Things I Want to Know
by snooperj
Summary: Perfect Pair. Tezuka may not show it, but he deeply treasures his relationship with Fuji. Chapters will contain different drabbles. Literally a complement to Bloodysamurai's 'Things You Don't Know'. EDIT: Chapter 77 is up.
1. A Poem for You

A Poem for You

Summary: Tezuka finds that even _he_ can be capable of being romantic… if only just in writing. But it's a nice start. [TezukaxFuji]

A/N: Based on a true experience, but that's all I can say.

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Tezuka re-read the words he had typed down on Notepad for a good 10 minutes. Of course he had intended to do something for Fuji for the longest time, especially after receiving a song written by the tensai himself. He wasn't even sure how, but as his fingers flew across the keyboard typing down what he wanted to say in this intended poem for Fuji, he felt like a different person.

"Is this… really me?" he breathed as he reached the end of his poem, staring at the blinking cursor of the Notepad. His mind argued that it was, considering that it was _he _who was sitting in front of the laptop and whose fingers had just finished typing it.

The stoic teen often showed his caliber in writing when it came to school activities, much to the amusement of his fellow classmates. It seemed that he composed a number of poems lately that had put a smile on people's faces. Go figure.

It was late at night, and he was still chatting with Fuji, though he had taken time off such idle chatter to compose this poem - in that short amount of time. He glanced at the chat window for a good few minutes, debating whether he would send it to him or not. He was a bit uncertain how the tensai would react.

Tezuka shook his head slowly. _'No… Syusuke needs to see this… It's for him that I made it, after all…'_ he told himself firmly in his head. He moved to copy-paste what he had typed on Notepad to the chat window for the tensai to read:

_**The Unsaid Words**_

If I were to write our history together,  
I'd describe it like a roller coaster.  
You and I had many opportunities,  
Yet no one dared take another step.  
We stayed as friends - and just as that;  
Merely watching from afar.

As time passed, feelings became overwhelming,  
Indescribable by even ourselves.  
One faithful day, it just happened -  
We recognized them, and confessed.  
Speech continues to escape me,  
Leaving me unable to take that next step.

So I continue this in my own way,  
A way you have been much exposed to.  
Hoping that someday you'll understand,  
Knowing that one day you'll see the real me.

Please forgive the awkwardness,  
The stiffness and all other screw-ups.  
I will try to go beyond that, however,  
If only to see your genuine smile.

Silently I thank you,  
For even considering me.  
If I am your world,  
Then you are my universe.

For our paths to cross,  
To meet in this lifetime.  
I'm grateful for your presence,  
For completing what was missing.  
Now, illuminated are the unsaid words,  
In a smile I keep only for you: I love you.

**TBC**

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Perfect Pair drabbles from Tezuka's PoV. Call it a compliment to Bloodysamurai's drabbles from Fuji's PoV (**EDIT: **entitled 'Things You Don't Know'. The link: http:// www. fanfiction. net / s / 4678055 / --- just take out the spaces) Look out for more from the both of us.


	2. Knowing and Wondering

Knowing and Wondering

Summary: Having known Fuji for a long time now, Tezuka wonders how he manages to figure out what the tensai is thinking. Is this how much Tezuka feels for Fuji; that he's able to somehow read Fuji's mind at times? [TezukaxFuji]

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Tezuka blinked for the umpteenth time. He was having a staring contest with a stuffed animal – a dog named Kurt. The red bow and the bell that was attached to its supposed neck complimenting the stuffed dog's 'fur' that was a mix of golden brown, white and black emitted a small smile from the stoic teen.

Fuji had given this as a gift to him for his birthday. Tezuka examined the tag that was attached to it. It read: 'Please adopt me. My name is **Kurt**.' Tezuka shook his head, a light chuckle escaping him. "And you said it didn't have a name, Syusuke…" he mused quietly to himself in the solitude of his bedroom.

Disposing of the wrapper into the waste bin, Tezuka placed Kurt on the desk beside his laptop and turned it on. He leaned back as he waited for it to start up before his gaze settled on the stuffed dog once again. He hesitantly took it and began stroking it, tapping the bell lightly as it created that ever-familiar sound all bells like those made.

When his laptop had reached the start-up screen, Tezuka set Kurt down on his lap and typed in his password. He would be chatting with Fuji once again, as they have been every night. The Fishtank background was all too familiar in his eyes to realize – even from afar – that it was Fuji's chat window that had popped up. Tezuka's mind wandered as he maneuvered around his laptop, opening the programs he wanted to use with his mouse.

Whatever came to possess him to actually plan any celebrations for his birthday, he didn't really know. But the date was set, and the other Seigaku Regulars were invited to his house for a simple dinner. Kawamura was more than happy to provide the food for this get-together.

A few days prior to this, Fuji had mentioned during one of their chats that he had purchased a little gift for him. Tezuka took another glance to Kurt beside him, wondering how his mind had immediately processed that Fuji would give him a dog of some kind long before the said tensai confirmed his interest to the said animal not long after. The stoic youth sighed. How was it that he was able to see through Fuji that easily? Had the tensai become _that _predicable for him when it came to these things?

'_Surely not,'_he thought to himself firmly as he saw a certain chat window pop up, causing him to smile.

'_**Why is it that we're slowly getting to be in synch with doing certain things, Syusuke?'**_

Tezuka thought back and recalled how he would mention that he would be right back to attend to dinner, and when he returned, noticed that Fuji had left him with that same message. When he had entered that he was back, Fuji replied seconds later with the same response. This incident happened quite often with them it was almost scary.

'_**We even finished each other's thoughts and sentences at some point, didn't we Syusuke?'**_

The stoic youth shook his head. He was inwardly amazed that such a feat was able to be done between the two of them, especially through their chats.

The night continued like any other; Tezuka occupied what free time he had chatting the night away with Fuji as his fingers flew across the keyboard to type and send a reply.

**TBC**

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A/N: Yes, while Tezuka's birthday is celebrated on the 7th of October, this is put in context of my own birthday. Real-time drabbles being created here. Wow. But feel free to imagine that this happens a few days (3 days, to be exact) before Tezuka's birthday.

Perfect Pair drabbles from Tezuka's PoV. Call it a compliment to Bloodysamurai's drabbles from Fuji's PoV.


	3. Late Nights

Late Nights

Summary: Lounging in front of his laptop in the wee hours of the night, Tezuka realizes that he's not the only one who has trouble getting to sleep. [TezukaxFuji]

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The time was roughly 11 in the evening when Tezuka had returned from a classmate's party. He had shed off his jacket and powered up his laptop before lounging in his chair. He had turned the device on earlier that day to check up on a few things before having lunch and spending an afternoon keeping his classmates company before heading off to the party together.

As he signed onto the messenger and moved to check for any updates on some sites, the ever-familiar chat box with the Fishtank background popped up. Tezuka blinked.

'_He's still awake?'_ the stoic teen thought frantically. He sighed, shaking his head with a small smile on his face. '_Of course he is.' _They had often chatted until late into the early morning (probably until around 3 A.M. at the latest), after all. Like him, Tezuka knew that Fuji would not retire to bed so early unless it was absolutely necessary.

He moved to begin a conversation with the tensai.

'_It's like we never want to go a day without chatting with each other, do we?' _Tezuka thought to himself in amusement. After all, there were three (or four) ways that the two of them would communicate with one another: chatting online, texting, seeing one another in person or on the rare occasion, voice chats on the messenger or phone calls to the other's household.

For lacking the immediate need to settle into bed, Tezuka took a moment to grab Kurt from his bed and brought it back with him as he returned to the conversation with Fuji. He actually found himself comfortable with stroking the soft fur of the stuffed animal, growing attached to it in a short span of time. He felt more calm and at ease with himself somehow. It _did_ come from Fuji, after all. Maybe that was part of the reason.

Now, time was forgotten, and Tezuka enjoyed this time he got to spend chatting with Syusuke as a genuine smile crept up his usually stoic features.

**TBC**


	4. The Buchou's Birthday

The Buchou's Birthday

Summary: How Tezuka celebrated his birthday. His inner thoughts and joys of his special day while spending it with friends, family – and Fuji. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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12 midnight. It was now officially his birthday. He was still up and chatting with Fuji, who had offered to greet him with showing him a letter he had typed up especially for him (A/N: You may refer to Bloodysamurai's 'To Love', chapter 8 of 'Things You Don't Know' for this one). A small smile crept up the buchou's features before he finally came to terms with his need to sleep and ended that conversation with the tensai the usual way before heading to bed.

--

A few hours later, the stoic teen had woken up – without the help of his alarm clock – and was promptly greeted by his parents, who came into his room. Thanking them kindly for the greetings, he shrugged it off and turned on his side to get at least another hour of sleep before calling it enough to get ready for the day.

Tezuka did indeed wake up an hour later to a few messages on his phone – _'No doubt birthday greetings'_, he thought to himself – before promptly heading to the shower. He was going to spend lunch with his classmates while bowling – his parents had suggested it, and he couldn't possibly refuse the offer – around two games with them. He had spent the past few days preparing the team order – which was not an easy task when you had 24 people to work with.

Tezuka left with his parents – who were as excited as he was in this celebration, it seems – to the bowling alley, and it took them a good half hour until most of the buchou's classmates arrived and were playing eagerly.

While Tezuka had enjoyed the company of his classmates, he felt that something was missing. You might call him being 'out of it', considering he rarely got strikes or spares in the two games that were played, and allowed himself to be beaten by the better of his classmates.

Tezuka headed home with his parents afterwards, still confused why he was feeling uneasy and incomplete. As he set some of the gifts his classmates had courteously given him on his desk, he looked over to his bed, where two stuffed animals were sitting there, staring back at him – his stuffed rabbit Diego and Kurt (A/N: You should know him to be introduced in Chapter 2). He smirked to himself in realization.

'_So it's _him _I'm waiting for now, is it?' _he thought to himself, shaking his head as he headed back downstairs.

--

Oishi was the first to arrive among the regulars. The vice-captain gave a quick clap on the buchou's shoulder before holding out a wrapped gift to Tezuka. Tezuka guided Oishi off to a room where they settled down and watched some television to pass the time.

Tezuka, having opened his other gifts already, proceeded to open Oishi's and found a rather thick book. He gave a nod of approval and thanks to his vice-captain before setting it down on the nearby table.

Kikumaru was the next to arrive, eagerly glomping his buchou before handing Tezuka his gift. A silly grin came across the acrobatic player's lips as they returned to the room where Tezuka had led Oishi to. Kikumaru glomped his doubles partner endearingly as Tezuka opened his gift – a pair of jeans for the buchou's leisure trips.

It didn't take long before Fuji arrived, who was dropped off by his sister Yumiko. Tezuka attended to Fuji, giving the boy a warm smile before ushering him into the room with Oishi and Kikumaru. It wasn't long before the rest of the regulars arrived; Kawamura arriving last with the food.

The heavens were literally smiling down on Tezuka on his special day; a conjunction of Jupiter, Venus and the Moon – a thin crescent – could be seen in the night sky (A/N: December 1, 2008. True story. Search for it!), as Tezuka's mother had pointed out to them.

To the surprise of the current regulars who were in attendance, Tezuka had invited another guest – Yamato-buchou. Tezuka, Fuji, Oishi, Kikumaru and Yamato-buchou shared a table out in the foyer and chatted about things over a dinner spread of lasagna, fish and chips, pizza, salad and spring rolls to choose from.

Tezuka sat himself between Kikumaru and Fuji during dinner, wondering in his head how things were going to go afterwards. The group had proceeded back to the room. After much conversation and bonding among the five who had grouped together – with some rare smiles coming from Tezuka, overwhelmed with the gathering of these people to celebrate his birthday with him -, Kikumaru was the first to depart, followed not long after by Yamato-buchou and Oishi.

Before he knew it, Fuji was the only one left, and Yumiko nee-san was going to be a little late in picking him up. Tezuka brought Fuji upstairs to his room for a moment, where Diego and Kurt were waiting for affection, attended to by Fuji almost immediately.

'_Syusuke… Your sister seems to know to have you waiting _this _long…' _Tezuka thought to himself as he led Fuji back downstairs to the room they had occupied earlier that night and settled onto the couch with him – carrying Diego and Kurt along with them.

Tezuka took off his glasses as they absent-mindedly watched a few programs on the television while in each other's arms. The stoic teen rested his head on Fuji's shoulder and closed his eyes.

_Beat. _

Tezuka could hear Fuji's heart beating a bit faster before they found themselves looking at one another in awkward silence. With a mention of cake – which Tezuka urged the tensai to bring home – they leaned forward and kissed each other on the lips for a brief moment.

"I love you."

Those words echoed in Tezuka's mind long after he had said it. How many times had he declared that to Fuji? Not enough, it seemed. He mentally sighed, scolding himself for not having done this sooner.

'_But… I'm glad… That we did it now… There's no more doubt… No more insecurities, ne Syusuke?'_

The words were repeated, and another kiss followed. This, Tezuka thought, was how he wanted to remember his birthday. It was quarter to midnight when Fuji had received a text from Yumiko stating that she was there. Tezuka, abandoning his glasses on the couch, escorted Fuji out to the front gate to see his boyfriend off.

'_Oyasumi, Syusuke…' _he mentally greeted as they parted ways, offering the tensai a nod and a genuine smile. _'I love you…'_

As the clock struck midnight, it signaled the end of Tezuka's birthday. The stoic teen settled himself on his bed and closed his eyes, smiling seemingly at nothing. _'If only you knew, Syusuke… If I had spent today alone with you… I would've been equally satisfied… Perhaps…even more…'_

**TBC**

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Note: Birthday celebration _slightly_ follows mine (which IS on December 1st). Connected to Bloodysamurai's 'Things You Don't Know' Chapter 9.


	5. Free Time

Free Time

Summary: Having some free time to spend in school before needing to attend to other responsibilities, Tezuka spends it in the free-for-all computer lab. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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Tezuka was up with his alarm clock at 8 in the morning that day, and proceeded to get ready to head out to school. Having dressed promptly - he was quite glad that they didn't require uniforms to be worn in the university he was attending - he moved to continue reading a play his Literature class was assigned to read for today.

His first class was at 9:30, and he was not the type to even consider being late for anything, if he could help it. But his ride did not allow him that privilege, as they had only left the house at 9. The predicted traffic held them back for quite a while until he finally set off to get down at a certain point and walk the rest of the way to school.

He grumbled inaudibly to himself but proceeded on his walk as he checked the time on his watch.

_9:45._ He was late. He took quick steps on his route to his 3rd floor classroom for English class. Upon arriving, however, Tezuka found that his classmates were attending to their own individual tasks. Blinking for a moment, Tezuka stepped into the room to find that the teacher wasn't there. One of his classmates only had to say one thing to ease the buchou's earlier problem - 'Free Cut'. Heaving an inner sigh of relief, Tezuka settled down into the nearest empty seat and pulled out the copy of the play once more to get ready for Literature class.

Halfway through Literature class - that started at 10:30 -, Tezuka was now feeling a tad bit morose at the fact that the rest of the week would be spent without seeing the tensai due to the difference in their breaks. As much as there was the internet and texting to consider - the former was starting to be a frustrating task to comply to for the buchou, whose home connection has been fluctuating time and time again -, Tezuka yearned to see his Syusuke again.

This effectively reminded him about the night carnival Fuji had invited him to go to the following Saturday. He needed to ask for his parent's permission tonight about it. _'There's no way I'm letting a chance like this go so easily...' _Tezuka vowed to himself, reminding him further of making final arrangements for Monday next week. _'I should seriously start learning to drive already...' _the stoic teen added, shaking his head in disappointment. All these plans, and his usual problem with it being transportation or lack thereof. How frustrating.

Literature class ended before he knew it, and he was off to lunch with some of his classmates. Tezuka half-heartedly ate his selected dish - Tonkatsu -, coupled with a mango fruit shake.

When Math class came, Tezuka was half-asleep for reasons he did not know. While Math was one of those classes he put most of his effort in when it came to academics, the buchou was finding it hard to stay awake. Perhaps it was the way the lecture was carried out. Tezuka shook his head firmly, trying to stay awake as he continued jotting down notes. At 1:20, the warning bell sounded and the professor dismissed them. Now Tezuka had nothing to do until 3:00, and decided to spend it in front of the computer in one of the labs.

_'Of all the things you would rather do in one and a half hours, it had to be to use the computer. Good thinking, Kunimitsu.' _

Tezuka was glad with his decision, finding Fuji online at their usual rendezvous site. _'This is how we end up spending our time together, isn't it, Syusuke?' _he thought with a slight, inner chuckle to himself. _'What we can't do because of time constraints, we make up for by being online... A nice concept, don't you agree?'_

So if this was how things would be like when Tezuka had some free time in his hands, he would do it again without a second thought.

**TBC**


	6. What's Important

What's Important

Summary: When Tezuka loses a seemingly irreplaceable material possession, he realizes what's _really _important. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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Tezuka arrived home and turned on his laptop as was his routine. He searched one of the bags he had used the day before for a particular device that contained some important documents saved on it. The buchou rummaged through it three times, his mind not registering that the USB was not anywhere in sight. He checked under his case, for hopes that it had just fallen off, but his search came up empty.

His mind was quickly making a checklist of the files that were saved on it. He had made documentation of some things he and Fuji were collaborating on; one of which was already 500+ pages in length. Tezuka groaned as he moved to his bed and picked up Kurt.

Frustrating as it was, he silently wished that if he had misplaced it somewhere in the school grounds, whoever had found it was decent enough to hand it in to the Lost & Found area. Tezuka had already informed a friend of his who was a part of the department handling the aforementioned area about it and hoped to get positive feedback from him soon.

Tezuka moved to sign in on the messenger and saw that Fuji was online, but did not begin chatting with him until after dinner. He proceeded telling the tensai about his little predicament when Fuji offered some comforting words that the stoic youth failed to adapt to. He was sulking over a USB for crying out loud.

'_A USB that held such delicately gathered data for future reference as well as other documents, thank you very much…' _Tezuka debated in his head.

Sighing, Tezuka wrapped his arms around Kurt affectionately, his fuming mind leaving behind all thoughts of frustration and anger on his carelessness and thought about Fuji instead. He wanted to see him; badly. He was then struck with an idea.

_Friday morning._ It was a good chance. His class wasn't until 9:30 if his English professor decided to push through with class, and he could easily hitch a ride with his mother on her way to work and drop him off at the usual breakfast place where he would meet Fuji. He forwarded this idea to the tensai. At least they didn't have to wait all too long for them to see each other again.

A small smile came across the buchou's face when realization struck as he calmly stroked Kurt's soft fur. If he were to decide between his missing USB or Fuji, then there was no contest. Fuji had to come first. For Tezuka, Fuji was more important; more important than the USB, than any other material possession, than tennis itself.

**TBC**

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Reviews much appreciated. And I'd like to take this chance to thank all those who've put me/this story on Author/Story Alert. Many thanks for the support. :3


	7. Rain

Rain

Summary: Spending a day full of ups and downs, Tezuka finds himself dejected with the world. And he blames it all on the rain. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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_5:30 PM._ Tezuka disembarked the bus, walking the rest of the way to his house. He sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. The day was gloomy with the rain pour in the morning.

'_The weather has a way of reflecting moods, doesn't it?' _Tezuka mused needlessly to himself as he turned a right to enter his subdivision, adjusting his hold on his bag.

--

The day was as gloomy as the weather was. His USB was still missing in action – he was still feeling a bit sore about losing it, of course -, and no affirmative news of it being found came to him. His friend had told him that it wasn't at the Lost and Found, and the buchou had asked a classmate of his to check the lab he was at two days prior to see if they saw anything.

During his PE class – basketball -, Tezuka took some moments glancing off to the tennis courts nearby. The synthetic ground was soaked. He groaned, shaking his head. The rain carried on until the early afternoon. It wasn't long before he received a text message from their coach, announcing that the tennis clinic that night would have to be cancelled. Tezuka thought about the court still wet from the morning rain before shaking his head, cursing inwardly.

--

The only good thing that may have happened with the stoic youth today was that his mother (and father) had allowed him to accompany Syusuke to the night carnival next Saturday. The tensai would be sleeping over afterwards, which put Tezuka in a slightly better mood than he did that morning. Not to mention his short exchange of messages with the said tensai. How it reassured Tezuka everyday that his feelings for Syusuke were not just a dream every single time he read the words 'I Love You' sent to him by his boyfriend.

Lunch time practically surprised the stoic youth. He had arranged to meet up with a few people who he had hosted with during one of the culminating activities for one of the foreign language departments of the university. One of them - a girl - offered him a fruit cake as a late birthday present. He thanked her with a nod, thankful that the box it was in was a reasonable size to still fit in his bag. He mentally reminded himself to tell his mother about it when she returned from work.

When he arrived home, he placed the cake in the refrigerator before heading up to his bedroom and settled in his chair and pulled off his socks. Tezuka sighed. _'Don't tell me it'll end up raining again when we meet each other for breakfast tomorrow, Syusuke…' _he thought to himself. Out of the many times he and Syusuke had met up for breakfast, it was raining. He powered up his laptop and moved to retrieve Kurt. It seemed to be a routine for him to pick up the stuffed dog when he got home.

"And it's not the sole fact that you came from Syusuke that I'm doing this…" Tezuka muttered conversationally to the dog. _'I'm just more secure with you around…'_

It was raining again, and the sun had long since set.

A deep sigh escaped the buchou.

He _knew _he hated rain for a reason.

This was probably why.

**TBC**


	8. Forever Waiting

Forever Waiting

Summary: Although they've confessed to one another, Tezuka still finds himself waiting for something. What exactly it is that he's waiting for, he doesn't know. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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Lunch time. Just a bit past 12 noon. Tezuka was gazing out of the window of the second floor landing of the restaurant he was meeting up with Fuji. As agreed upon the day before, the two had met up for breakfast at another restaurant about 4 hours prior. Tezuka mentioned that he had a good 4 hour break after his two classes today (from 11:30 - 4:30) before he had to attend to his responsibilities with one of his organizations in school to Fuji over breakfast, to which the tensai offered that they meet up for lunch, as he had a one and a half hour lunch break from 12 to 1:30.

Whether it was a miracle that they agreed to meet up for lunch or not, deep down, Tezuka was pleased.

_'At least the week wouldn't be so boring, ne Syusuke?' _Tezuka thought to himself. _'We both wanted to see each other again, didn't we?'_

Tezuka rightfully shook his head, clearing those thoughts from his head, his mind registering the noise emanating from the different groups of customers there. His attention was brought over to a small container he had set down in front of him, with a plastic spoon perched on top of it. It was an Oreo Cheesecake he had bought in school minutes before he walked to the restaurant he was currently in. He planned on giving it to Fuji. _'I wonder if I should've gotten the Choco Banana or the Strawberry Cheesecake instead...' _he debated with himself.

The tensai, although he had already sent a message that he was out of class and was on his way, had the stoic teen waiting for quite some time. The buchou brought his gaze over outside once more before a small smile was perched on his lips. He spotted the familiar red jacket Fuji had on during their earlier meeting and only had to wait a few minutes for Fuji to find him.

While partaking lunch with Fuji in silence - which seemed to happen a lot between them - Tezuka found himself detached from the world. During his wait for Fuji - several times glancing behind him while he was walking -, there were a lot of things that entered the stoic teen's mind. Whether it was about ideas for what he would be doing next with the stories he was authoring alongside Fuji or planning the date on Monday - how he was _still_ not used to terming their meetings in that fashion - to make up for their monthsary the following day, Tezuka felt insecure about something. As if something was nagging at him.

For that whole one and a half hour break that the tensai had, Tezuka wondered what was missing. Even when the two had parted ways - Tezuka offered to walk Fuji to his school -, the buchou's mind was begging itself to remember. Fuji had texted him, as he chuckled inwardly. _'I love you' _the latter part of the message read. Oh yes. They didn't exchange any endearing kiss today. Not even just a verbal exchange of 'I Love You's. But strangely, Tezuka thought that that wasn't what he was waiting for.

_'I wonder what it is...'_ he thought to himself before he returned to the lab and sat himself down to an empty computer and accessed the internet._ 'I really hate waiting... Whatever it is I'm waiting for, it better not take too long...'_ he added with a groan.

**TBC**

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A/N: Even I honestly don't know what Tezuka is waiting for. But it's a nagging feeling that just won't go away. Maybe it's news of his USB. XDD I don't know. Reviews much appreciated!**  
**


	9. In Contemplation

In Contemplation

Summary: All alone in his bedroom, the buchou starts thinking about the coming days, as well as other things. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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Tezuka placed his laptop on the bed with him before he moved to lie down on his stomach in front of the device. Kurt was sitting eagerly on the bed, as if waiting for the stoic youth to notice him. Tezuka, needing the comfort, took hold of the stuffed dog and pulled it close as the bell sounded from Kurt's neck.

There were a few things he was looking forward to: Spending Monday with Syusuke, his group's Literature group work due on Wednesday, watching a play on Friday, tennis on Tuesday and Thursday and spending Saturday (and some part of Sunday) with Syusuke.

The boy was surprised that he was actually awaiting those days with the tensai he had lost all thought of anything else. He shook his head lightly.

'_Don't forget about your studies, Kunimitsu…'_ he scolded himself. The last week of classes the week after brought with it a few deadlines of papers which he did not want to put off any longer than necessary. He promised himself to start working on his Math homework tomorrow if time allowed him to, and maybe start on that myth/legend he needed to make up for one of his subjects which was supposed to revolve around the concept of how people cry. He also needed to start gathering sources for his research paper as well by that week.

Tezuka found himself constrained with time with the activities he had involved himself in this semester. Due to this, he was forced to stay in school until 7 in the evening, whether it was due to one of his organization's activities or his tennis clinic. Not that he minded it, of course. He had instantly matched Syusuke's own schedule with involving himself in those kinds of things.

When Tezuka thought about it, it was quite ironic how things came to be with him and Fuji when they reached university. They were indeed schoolmates back at Seishun Academy in junior high, but they had parted ways when they reached high school – Tezuka had continued studying in Seigaku, while Fuji transferred schools. In college, Fuji returned to study in Seigaku while Tezuka enrolled himself in another school nearby.

'_I'm sure things would've been so much easier if I never left Seigaku… But…' _Tezuka trailed off, shaking his head. He didn't want to think about the complications he and Fuji had gone through when they had gotten together. It was true that a factor of the said complication was that they were attending different schools at the present moment.

'_It's unavoidable… We'll just have to get around it like how we've been doing so far, Syusuke…'_

Tezuka eyed Fuji's display picture for a moment that was a picture of the two of them Yumiko took during the other's birthday celebration. The stoic youth recalled a previous conversation he had with Yuuta through chat concerning his own display picture.

**YUUTA: Tezuka-senpai, why don't you put a display picture of you and aniki on here?**

**Tezuka blinked. Why indeed. He typed in a reply and sent it to the youngest Fuji.**

**KUNIMITSU: I'm waiting for the perfect**** one to use. That's all.**

Tezuka paused. Waiting? He felt his mind process the word. Was _that_ what he was waiting for, a perfect, proper picture with Syusuke?

'_Something I could carry around with me in my wallet?' _he mentally asked himself in slight confusion.

He would find that out eventually. He had Monday to make that happen. _'Those photo sticker booths near the arcade…_' Tezuka thought randomly to himself. All thoughts were swimming in his mind now. Plans began to formulate for his day with Syusuke as a small smile crept up his lips.

'_Syusuke…  
I've said it time and time again…  
But I will protect you… and make you happy…  
I'd do anything to ensure your safety and happiness… to see your genuine smile…  
Entrust all your troubles to me, and we can overcome them __together__…  
Know that I'll always give you my time when you need it – unless studies __absolutely__ need to go first…  
Never lose faith in what we have… and continue moving forward… continue looking forward…  
Syusuke, I wholeheartedly love you. Please do not forget that fact.'_

**TBC**


	10. Surrendering to Sleep

Surrendering to Sleep

Summary: It's past midnight and Tezuka is still chatting with Fuji. The stoic youth is called away by his mother to accompany her somewhere. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka was lying on his bed, staring at the screen of his laptop as he typed up a reply to one of Fuji's inquiries. One would only imagine the surprise on the buchou's features when his mother entered his room.

She asked him if he could accompany her to pick up his father at some place since he had no other way to get home. Tezuka looked at Fuji's window before groaning inwardly. He agreed as she bustled out of the room to get ready to go in about five minutes.

Tezuka stifled a yawn as he relayed the news to Fuji. Earlier in the evening, he had found out that the tensai was being bothered by one of his classmates, and it made him the least bit uneasy about things. But he forced himself not to be. The bespectacled youth wanted to look forward to their date tomorrow (their arranged meeting on Monday).

Tezuka said his farewell to Fuji, who had said that he himself was sleepy already. He turned his laptop off and took his cell phone and strangely, Kurt along with him, stifling another yawn as he headed out to the car with his mother. He settled into the backseat and stretched his legs out. His mother just wanted someone to accompany her, so the buchou was not obliged to instigate any conversation. He figured that a little nap while he was there wouldn't hurt.

His mind constantly drifted off to Fuji, and what they would do tomorrow. _'Our monthsary on Tuesday… Let's make a good first celebration tomorrow…'_ he thought in his head before everything else drowned out and the stoic youth succumbed to sleep, his head resting against a pillow and his arms wrapped protectively around Kurt.

--

Tezuka stirred when they had returned home. He nodded to his parents before straying off to his dark bedroom, not bothering to turn on the lights and headed knowingly to his bed and slumped down onto it after taking off his glasses and setting down on the bedside table. "Syusuke…" he mumbled before drifting off to sleep a second time.

**TBC**


	11. The First

The First

Summary: An account on what went on in the past few hours spent. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Monday Morning, 7:30 am. Tezuka had woken up with his alarm clock and wiped his nose. He had acquired a little cold throughout the night. He sat up and moved to his desk to take care of his little cold before heading to take a shower. Today was the day. Today, he was going to go with Fuji on a date.

Whether he was nervous or excited, he couldn't tell. Tezuka got dressed before taking his cell phone and stared it down, wondering where the tensai was. The tensai in question was going to be taking a bus and get down at a stop just outside the buchou's subdivision, where Tezuka would often meet him. He typed a message and sent it to Fuji. He powered up his laptop for a little while to check on his e-mail. 20 minutes passed before he called Fuji up.

"_I'm at the terminal," _Fuji said reassuringly, with a chuckle slowly following it. _"I was about to let you know."_

Tezuka flushed but got to his feet. "I understand… I'll meet you there."

The stoic youth hung up before heading out of his house and began his 2 minute brisk walk to the guardhouse and out into the streets. He reached the terminal and watched the buses and taxis whizzing by. Finally, a particular bus came to a stop and Fuji came down from it.

Tezuka nodded at the tensai before they began their walk back to his house. Having arrived up in his bedroom not long after, Tezuka allowed Fuji to use his laptop for a short moment while waiting for his father to get ready to go.

He and Fuji were going to one of the malls to run a few errands – more on his end, actually -, and Tezuka's father had offered to drop them off. Wondering where the time went, Tezuka and Fuji found themselves in the back of Tezuka's father's car and on their way.

Promptly being dropped off at the mall at around 9 am, Tezuka and Fuji went into a coffee shop and ordered some drinks to pass the time for the rest of the shops to open. Of course, ordering cold drinks early in the morning was not something you would consider a right move for either of them – considering Fuji didn't even finish his own drink.

The stoic youth's unconscious action of sprinkling chocolate powder into his chocolate drink – which he eagerly finished - was a cause of having him do nearly half of the things he did that day in Fuji's presence. What a way to start things off.

They took a stroll around the mall, finding a number of closed shops and such but headed up a few floors. Fuji's request at watching a movie led the duet upstairs to check the times for the movies, although it wasn't until later that they would be buying the tickets. After confirming _what _they were to watch – an animated movie about a dog believing that he had super powers (A/N: The movie 'Bolt'), they headed back down to check once more if the stores were open now.

To his relief, Tezuka saw that it was. He headed inside with Fuji close behind him and asked the clerk for what he needed. Fuji looked at the other merchandise being sold, effectively preoccupying himself while Tezuka was with the clerk. Seeing that the size of the outfit he was looking for was not there, he settled for what _was_ available and purchased it, along with two mouse pads – one for himself and one for Fuji. Once that was purchased – and Fuji had paid for what he wanted as well -, they headed off to find the other thing Tezuka wanted to buy – a new USB flash drive.

It became an easy task for Tezuka to figure out what he would be giving Fuji for Christmas, and he had long planned it ever since they returned from one of their many escapades. When he would replace his lost USB, he would buy the tensai his own mouse for his little laptop – which explained why he wanted to buy him a mouse pad to go with it. He gave Fuji the freedom to choose the mouse he wanted while he moved to the USBs and browsed through them quickly and picked one.

When the tensai had chosen one, Tezuka paid for both before stuffing it along with his other purchases. The two passed by a bookstore and went inside and browsed through some of the shelves. The buchou stopped by the magazine section and searched for a particular issue and bought it – it was the latest issue of the sports magazine he had been collecting since its first issue was published 6 years ago.

Tezuka did not at all find this romantic to begin with, considering how they were just shopping around and _he _was the one who was buying all said items. He sighed but led Fuji back upstairs to purchase the movie tickets. They bought ones for the 11:20 am showing, and still had some spare time. Tezuka and Fuji moved to the arcade nearby – not that you would imagine the buchou going near any such similar establishment.

Tezuka blamed his earlier consumption of chocolate back at the coffee shop for everything he had done in that arcade before the movie – a shooting game with Fuji, a basketball game and a dancing game. The stoic youth had sworn he did not have any adept talent at any of these games beforehand. The last of the three mentioned games, however, left the buchou parched as he purchased himself some water before heading into the movie house with Fuji.

The dark atmosphere of the movie house was enough, and the less-than-full audience provided them with the illusion that they were the only ones there. Throughout the movie, Tezuka admitted that he did not find any moment to be more… intimate with the tensai beside him – and the armrest between them was already pulled up -, which he would have to blame on the overall plot of the movie for not being more… accommodating of allowing such things. It was one of those movies where you just couldn't pry your eyes away.

Coming out of the theater - now well-famished for lunch -, Tezuka and Fuji headed downstairs to one of the food courts, walking through its entire length, gazing at the various food choices. But what had unsettled them was the number of people seated at the tables. Tezuka sighed before suggesting that they find a restaurant instead. Fuji immediately agreed, the whole time latching himself to the taller boy's arm – that wasn't holding the rest of the purchases.

The two eventually agreed that they wait a while until most of the people were done with their late lunches, and ended up back at the top floor. Tezuka saw a familiar restaurant – one where he admits he has not eaten in for quite a while – and suggested that they eat there… but not after another – hopefully last – round at the arcade.

After spending more of the credits on some random games – Tezuka was cursing inside that this particular arcade did not have his favorite Virtua Tennis game -, he eventually settled with finally getting photo stickers of himself and the tensai. They waited for the customers using the booth before them until stepping inside.

Tezuka had wondered what he was thinking with doing this, but they posed for the camera as it took four different shots for them to choose from. Out of the four, Tezuka would've preferred the last shot – where they had kissed -, if the tensai had not been looking at the camera thinking that the picture had already been taken. Tezuka groaned but operated the machine to print out the stickers – losing all interest of designing them, more out of careless pressing and laziness combined than for any other reason.

'_Oh calm down, that wasn't what you were waiting for, was it?' _he thought to himself with a light shake of his head. When the stickers had come out, he carefully slid it into one of the parcels in his big bag of purchases to keep it from being wrinkled.

Tezuka and Fuji headed off to the said restaurant and finally sat themselves down to lunch. Something Tezuka's stomach was looking forward to. He wasn't sure if it was the weight of his purchases that got his hands so tired or if it was from the game he played at the arcade – some drum game called 'Percussion Master', but Tezuka was certain that he would be complaining about this tomorrow during PE class.

They finally decided to head back to Tezuka's place via taxi without complaints from the stoic youth – who was, by then, too tired to start any arguments on their way back -, to which the fees were taken care of by the tensai himself.

Upon arriving back in the house, Tezuka and Fuji settled in the former's bedroom a second time that day. Diego and Kurt were not left out of the equation, though. Fuji settled himself on Tezuka's bed for most of the time, after all. Tezuka had powered his laptop and went to set his new purchases aside while waiting.

The buchou watched as Fuji brought Diego and Kurt with him and sat himself down on the empty seat beside Tezuka. He looked down at the two stuffed animals in Fuji's hands before suggesting that the four of them have a picture together. The stoic youth wondered why he had offered, but opened up a program that made use of his laptop's built-in webcam. He snapped a picture of them and had to shake his head at how it slightly resembled a family picture.

Tezuka eventually strayed away from his laptop and joined Fuji on his bed feeling sleepier – or just tired - by the minute. He promptly took off his glasses, set them down on the bedside table and let his head collapse onto the pillow and closed his eyes. Fuji, he noted, did not waste any moment keeping him awake by using either Diego or Kurt as a means to bother him.

Not that Tezuka took it personally; he was just overly tired and the slightest disturbance in what little sleep he wanted to get would've proved fatal towards anybody else. But then again, this was _Fuji Syusuke _we were dealing with. Tezuka swerved away from any 'attacks' made to his neck by either of the two stuffed animals (controlled by the tensai himself), while managing to stay on the bed. The tensai had long since been figuring out where – if it existed – the stoic youth was ticklish, after all. This was just one of those 'games' to hopefully answer that query.

Tezuka was inwardly amused at it and 'attacked' Fuji himself – without use of the stuffed animals -, quickly found the tensai's ticklish spots (which he rather not mention for private amusement). _'Finally, something to bother Syusuke with…'_ Tezuka thought to himself with an innate smirk.

Time passed. In the background were random songs off Tezuka's iPod – who knew the stoic youth actually _owned _one? -, to which the owner was singing along with some of them – _'The culprit is that chocolate drink from this morning, I tell you,'_ Tezuka reasoned to himself.

Day was turning into night. Fuji said that he would have to get going soon. They sat in silence on Tezuka's bed for a moment before they took each other in a chaste kiss.

"Syusuke…" Tezuka called when they broke off. "That was an awkward position for you, wasn't it?" The stoic youth was correct, of course. Fuji was sitting almost directly behind him when they had shared the kiss. Tezuka seemed to be the more comfortable of the two.

An exchange of 'I Love You's and another kiss later, Tezuka offered to walk Fuji out of his subdivision after Fuji had packed up the things he brought with him. Holding hands as they normally did now, farewells were exchanged between the two lovers before they parted ways.

As Tezuka returned home, he smiled as he settled onto his chair in front of his laptop. Today, he agreed, would be engraved deep into his mind – at least he wanted it to be – for a long, _long_ time.

'_For today, Syusuke… I hope you had fun… However blunt and uneventful it was – in my eyes, at least. Next time… I'll bring you to a good restaurant… they make the best Tori Kamameshi (_A/N: Translated to Chicken Rice), _and we can order ourselves some good sushi as well…'_

Tezuka smiled secretly to himself. In his heart, he knew that this was just the first of many more to come.

**TBC**


	12. Tezuka's Plan

Tezuka's Plan

Summary: The day of their first monthsary. Tezuka deliberately avoids greeting the tensai, hoping to grasp the opportunity to write what he would like to say to Fuji. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka woke up at 5:30 in the morning to his alarm clock.

He vaguely recalled receiving a text message from Fuji at exactly midnight as he laid in bed trying to get to sleep.

The message read as follows:

_"Well, since I'm still up and all…  
Happy monthsary to us! :D  
There we go… Now I shall try to get some sleep. XP"_

The stoic youth smirked. His fingers – more accurately, just his thumb – hovered over to keypad to type a similar greeting but thought against it. Sleep was pulling him away much quicker than he realized. _'I'll think up of some other way to greet him…'_ his last thoughts were before continuing off to sleep.

As he got ready to go to school – packing along his tennis racket for the clinic later tonight -, Tezuka's thoughts returned once more to how he would be executing his little plan.

The buchou got down from his mother's car and took his usual route into the school and to the area where he normally spent these early – or not so early – mornings with his blockmates. To Tezuka's surprise – which he successfully hid -, the usually crowded walk decorated with benches that people occupied was deserted.

'_Did I miss a memo or something?' _he thought to himself as he eased himself down onto one of the benches. He checked the time. People were supposed to be here already, at least that's how Tezuka's grown to know that particular area of his school.

'_More thinking time for me, then…'_ Tezuka said to himself as he took out a pen and a spare notebook, flipping the latter to the first page. The stoic youth momentarily closed his eyes to gather his thoughts before opening his eyes.

Just as he was about to write something, the arrival of one of his blockmates disrupted him. Tezuka sighed inwardly. _'I think I'll do this later…' _he said to himself in resignation, closing the notebook and capping the pen. He replaced these items with the textbook he brought with him for his first class and opened it to their reading assignment.

---

Tezuka was running out of opportunities. His PE class right after taking up Japanese Literature was the opposite of what he thought it would be. Their coach, by the end of some drills, separated the class into two divisions – for Intermediate and Beginner players. Tezuka was sorted into the former, and did some shooting practice with the rest of his 'new' team.

While the bespectacled boy did not believe he had much to give for the sport of basketball, Tezuka found himself managing a few 3-pointers – unable to figure out how exactly he's able to do such a thing.

---

Two classes later, Tezuka moved to the computer lab he often visited to access the internet for a while. Out of curiosity, he typed in the web address of the site he and Fuji often visited. Much to his amusement – though his features once more did not convey such an emotion – it was running again (A/N: Both Tezuka and Fuji have gone 4 days without it).

Tezuka had taken this chance to take out his new USB and get started recovering the files he diligently saved in his previous flash drive. He opened up a few other sites where he had stored chunks of the files. He had a lot of copy-pasting to do (A/N: Just so you're all curious, the files refer to the master copies – which Tezuka had diligently edited down to the punctuation marks – of the roleplays he does with the tensai. They unanimously agreed to publish them as a story in chapters. (Realistically speaking, two of their published works are found here: http: // mido-ban04 . livejournal . com /) Tezuka is taking them and saving another master copy for each).

The stoic youth worked quickly and efficiently. When he had finished recovering the edited versions that were posted, he checked the time before deciding to head to the org room. He was sure to write something now.

Upon arriving at the room, only two people were there. This was a good thing for Tezuka, who preferred the silence. He sat down at one of the tables and pulled out his notebook and ball pen once more.

Quickly recalling what he wanted to write that morning, Tezuka nodded to himself and started writing:

_For my beloved Syusuke,_

_A month has passed since that faithful day; that day when we both came to terms with how we felt for one another. I will admit to you that I was unsure if we would be able to come this far. Now I have no doubts. What had lasted as a long friendship between us both – with its ups and downs – eventually came down to this. Surely something that neither you nor I foresaw._

_While I have given you the heartache of not returning your greeting with one of my own today, I had figured that this would be the better choice; that I might 'surprise' you a second time. Whether you were or not, you will have to tell me that yourself once you have read this._

_We communicate most often through the internet – whether it's through our roleplays or merely exchanging messages on our chat windows – and that is something that equally makes up the time we do not spend together in person. _

_I shall continue to be apprehensive with our relationship, though I shall also strive to make it a lasting, memorable experience for us both. I will, of course, need your help. _

_I love you now, and I'll love you until forever more, Fuji Syusuke. _

_Yours,_

_Your Kunimitsu_

_P.S. Happy monthsary, love._

Tezuka set his pen down and reread his work before closing his notebook. He would type this when he got home from his clinic. For now, he had a practice to attend to with his other orgmates.

'_You'll have to tell me if my plan was a success, Syusuke. You know how to reach me,_' he thought to himself with an inner chuckle.

**TBC**


	13. Illness

Illness

Summary: As the countdown to Saturday begins, Tezuka is worried for the health of his boyfriend. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Illness was something unavoidable; anybody could easily fall pray to it. Of course, not that this bothered Tezuka in the least, considering that the hardly grew sick from a fever. That was a rarity. If any sickness bothered the stoic youth, it was the common cold.

Time and time again, he had caught it from being around a cold area without the proper protection. The few moments he had actually let his guard down, really.

But talking about illnesses unsettled the youth the night before, when he had found out that his boyfriend was feeling under the weather. Worried for Syusuke's condition early today while he was walking to school – these were the moments when Tezuka had thanked Kami-sama for whoever invented the cell phone -, he prompted the tensai to stay in bed and take it easy.

The reply he received, however, was that Fuji had needed to attend classes due to the quizzes he couldn't possibly miss. Tezuka sighed inwardly. If that was his boyfriend's choice, he would not impose himself upon him any more.

'_Syusuke… You realize that it hurts me to be unable to do anything physically… Whether it's to comfort you or any other gesture…' _he thought dejectedly and wished that Fuji would get better quickly. _'I won't force you to do anything… Just… please take care of yourself…'_

The buchou pocketed his phone and headed off to the cafeteria to meet with his group mates for their presentation for Literature class.

----

After Tezuka's Math class, he moved to the computer lab and sat down at one of the computers. He checked his phone and realized that he had a message. He opened it and frowned – more than he already showed – as he read Fuji's message.

It seemed as if the fever from yesterday shot up and that Fuji was going to go home to rest. Tezuka sighed. Deep. Of course Tezuka wouldn't blame Fuji for being stubborn; he had done so quite a number of times in the past, after all. But the fact that his beloved Syusuke had fallen ill unsettled him gravely.

Tezuka made a reply, nearly begging the tensai to just get the rest he needed to recover. He did not, however, have the heart or the authority to ban Fuji from going online at his own leisure that night. He left that decision up to Fuji.

'_Kami-sama, have him take it easy from now until Saturday, at least… Help him get better…'_

**TBC**


	14. Without a Word

Without a Word

Summary: Tezuka's thoughts on Fuji's sickness. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

----

Tezuka knew more than ever that today would be a day of distractions for him. Having found out that Fuji had no credits on his cell phone to reply to Tezuka's messages and that he would be taking today off from school calmed the stoic youth. Just a bit.

As he sat down at his place for Japanese Literature class that morning, Tezuka uniquely felt that things were incomplete. Shunning everybody else's presence - for he knew he would snap at them if they came near - away for the time being, the stoic youth took out his spare notebook once again and began to write:

_'Even if you tell me not to worry, I still would Syusuke._

_What you ask of me is just absurd._

_If there was a way to cancel out your illness for just a day..._

_If there was a way to share your illness..._

_I would do it in a heartbeat._

_Your definition of worry is different from mine._

_I worry because I care._

_I care because I love you._

_A prayer to Kami-sama has been sent._

_All hope is that he grants my wishes.'_

Tezuka reread what he had written._ 'Syusuke... I'll continue to worry about you without a word... without a second thought.'_

**TBC**


	15. Disappointment

Disappointment

Summary: Although the day was fair, Tezuka still finds himself inwardly disappointed. And he blames the rain once again. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

----

Tezuka sighed as he looked out the window of the org room. The stoic youth had settled himself there after his usual visit to the computer lab to attend to some semi-important business (A/N: Recovering the content for one of the roleplays he does with Fuji. XD).

Just minutes ago, he received a message from Fuji. Tezuka had texted his boyfriend before he had entered the computer lab, inquiring if he could come online so they could chat for a bit. While he got the tensai's message when he entered the org room, he smirked at the fact that the boy in question had credits for his phone once more.

'_Well, that's one problem less to worry about…' _he thought to himself as he turned to the window after replying promptly to Fuji's message.

He stretched his arms overhead. Attending yet another practice session with his fellow orgmates to prepare for the Christmas season – they were practicing their repertoire of songs for their caroling escapade -, Tezuka shook his head. He was classified as a tenor for their group (A/N: Think Shirota Yuu's natural singing voice), and he quickly attempted learning the songs during the past two weeks.

A few more people started to arrive before they began practice. The whole day was decorated with drizzling. The bespectacled teen had hoped to the high heavens that the rain shower stopped long enough for the courts to dry for his tennis clinic that night.

Much to his disarray, however, Tezuka received a message during practice. It was from his coach. He groaned at the cancellation of yet another session. It looked like he would be extending this caroling practice until 7pm, when his mother would be picking him up.

'_It shouldn't even be raining at this time of the year…'_ he reasoned angrily to nobody in particular. He shook his head as he returned to concentrate on their practice. _'The bright side is… at least Syusuke's all better now. Maybe he and I can meet up tomorrow when he's free. I think I'll inquire about that later when I get home,' _Tezuka added.

**TBC**


	16. His Sour Mood

His Sour Mood

Summary: A collection of Tezuka's mental rants about the things that happened that day. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

1: _'Syusuke needs to concentrate on getting better for Saturday… A breakfast date tomorrow is out of the question…' _A sigh escaped him. _'So much for trying to meet up again before Saturday…'_

2: _'Tennis clinic was cancelled again tonight… I blame the people who don't care to do anything about global warming… It isn't supposed to be a rainy season at this time of the year…'_

3: _'I'm drawing a blank for an idea on writing a myth/legend of how people cry for Japanese Literature class… And I need to come up with a paper by next Thursday. How convenient...' _He means this sarcastically, of course.

4: _'The topic I was left with for English class should have a few sources in the library… I'll have to remind myself to go and do it as soon as possible…'_

5: _'Not having any more basketball class next week… While it gives me more time to work on meeting other deadlines… I'll end up forgetting everything over the Christmas break.'_

6: _'My course requires me to do a computer project that's due next Friday. That's another thing to add to the list of things to accomplish for next week.' _Another sigh escaped the stoic youth.

7: _'Singing a particular line from one of our songs is not the easiest of tasks. My throat is sore from all this. How frustrating...' _Tezuka groaned. _'Why did I join this again?'_

8: _'I want to see Syusuke, or at least hear his voice before Saturday…'_

**TBC**


	17. Musical Productions

Musical Productions

Summary: An entry of what went on during Tezuka's last Literature class for the year. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

Note: Event here is based on a true experience. Give or take a few tweak of details.

------

The substitute for their English teacher had just left the room. The class was getting excited on scheduling the Christmas Party. Not that Tezuka minded attending parties; his course blockmates had already set theirs the following Friday. Truth be told, Tezuka was fond of working with this particular class. They were a variety of personalities that fondly reminded him of the Seigaku Regulars back in the day.

Their Literature professor entered the classroom. They were to discuss what play production the class would be putting up that would serve as their Finals.

Immediately, suggestions of 'Avenue Q', 'Moulin Rouge', 'RENT', 'Romeo & Juliet' and the like came up. It wasn't easy handling the opposing ideas – which Tezuka could very well relate to, but it ended up in a voting process between two productions: A modern version of 'Romeo & Juliet', or 'RENT'. 17 out of the 29 people in class raised their hands for RENT – the stoic youth among them.

And so began the process of assigning roles. An overall director, a musical director, a costume and make-up director, a stage manager, an equipments/props manager, a videographer were picked (though it is more precise to say that the positions were voluntary). The script would be cropped down to cover 30-45 minutes over the Christmas break, and would be assigning the casting by then.

Tezuka agreed to this ideal setting. If he could help it, he would rather handle the camera if all else failed – as he had yet to volunteer for any position as of that moment. But one of his classmates had offered there and then that she could play the role of Mimi. Another of his classmates beside him offered that she could do the part of Maureen.

When class had been dismissed, his classmate who wanted to do Mimi's role walked up to him and suggested, "Maybe you can do the part of Mark, Tezuka-kun."

Tezuka blinked.

"I imagine you can sing his parts well," she added.

Tezuka nodded. "I… I suppose I could…" he replied.

The girl grinned before nodding, going ahead of him.

Tezuka sighed inwardly to himself. _'It seems as though another of the events Syusuke and I have written for the roleplays has become reality again… This is surely no coincidence now…'_ he told himself firmly. The stoic youth shuddered at the thought.

**TBC**


	18. A Wish Come True

A Wish Come True

Summary: Tezuka asked Kami-sama to help Fuji recover from his illness, plus something else. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

A/N: Refer to Chapter 14 if you're confused as to what I'm talking about here.

------

Tezuka asked that he share the tensai's illness. And the stoic youth was sure that it was by no coincidence that he had gotten a cold yesterday.

--

Yesterday…

He and Fuji had managed to find time to see each other. Tezuka had some free time on his hands between 1:30 – 4:30 before the tensai sent him a message suggesting that they meet up at 3. Not wanting to miss this chance, Tezuka briefly replied his acceptance.

--

While sitting down at one of the tables of the café, Tezuka said – with light sarcasm intended: "It seems Kami-sama's granted one of my two wishes."

--

Tezuka shrugged. He still had caroling practice from 4:30 – 7 and a play to watch for Literature class from 7-9pm after this meeting. _'It's best I let Fuji rest up tonight. I don't want him to have to wait up for me since I'll probably be home around 10pm…' _Saturday was fast approaching.

---

Saturday morning.

'_This is what I asked for. I'm not going to let this stop me and Syusuke from having a good time today,' _Tezuka told himself firmly as he moved to get ready for the day.

**TBC**


	19. Carnival Day

Carnival Day

Summary: On what roughly transpired on their slated reunion that Saturday at the carnival. From Tezuka's side of things. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

The cold seemed to be the least of the stoic youth's problems. While he was at times coughing or blowing off some excess phlegm into his handkerchief to clear his nasal passages so that he could breathe easier – since he was, half the time, breathing through his mouth -, Tezuka's stamina had greatly diminished.

The morning was not as what he expected. Tezuka had set his phone alarm to go off at around 10:30 in the morning; enough time for him to get ready for the day. However, he was awakened nearly two hours prior to this time when he received a message from the tensai.

It seemed that Fuji had stumbled across news of a surprise party for Echizen that night – co-planned by Inui - and tentatively asked the buchou if he would be attending that instead. Tezuka shook his head. _'That's a stupid question,' _he reasoned as he keyed in a reply. _'You expect me to attend Echizen's party when we've planned this day after so long?' _he thought in slight annoyance. Tezuka tried to get some more sleep. But Fuji started a number of messages that inevitably had the buchou finally get out of bed anyway. He would use some time fixing a few things as he turned his laptop on.

--

He and Fuji had agreed that the latter would come to the house after lunch. Tezuka was feeling much under the weather and decided to catch a little shut-eye while waiting. He practically collapsed onto the bed and immediately fell asleep. He awoke to a message from Fuji from his phone as he got up and headed downstairs to let him in.

Tezuka led Fuji back up to his bedroom once more – after half-joking about the number of bags the tensai had with him (as he previously explained that his sister had packed two bags for him, one of which only contained food) – before the stoic youth collapsed onto the bed once more. Fuji was not 100% well as he was, so a fit of running noses and coughs would be echoing between the two of them.

'_I won't allow this to hold us back…' _he said firmly to himself.

--

During the ride to the carnival – which was met with much traffic, unfortunately -, Tezuka found himself either trying to rest or joining in some conversation with the other passengers of the car. Tezuka inwardly had to chuckle at how the tensai complained about being hungry during the trip after waiting at a restaurant while waiting for their ride.

--

When they finally arrived at their venue, the first agenda on their list was to eat. Not that Tezuka would complain. They walked along the small strip of restaurants there and chose one and ordered an early dinner's worth of food.

After getting their tickets to enter the carnival, they quickly headed off to find a ride to go on. One of Fuji's group mates was leading the way – having been to the place before – until they were out in the open air once more.

There were a number of rides there – a roller coaster, a Ferris Wheel and others. The group decided on a particular ride before getting in line for it. They witnessed the ride 'warm up' as it spun around in any possible manner it could. The stoic youth watched it with as less interest as he could muster when he felt Fuji clinging tightly to his arm.

When the ride was finally opened up once more, it took two runs before the group had sat themselves down onto the ride themselves. Tezuka sat himself at the side – much to his disinterest in the position -, sitting beside Fuji. Their other companions were seated in the row behind them. A random boy sat himself beside Fuji.

For safety measures, the buchou took off his glasses and held it firmly with one hand, the other clinging onto the safety bar in front of him. Tezuka took a moment to breathe. _'It won't last more than 5 minutes, at most…' _he tried to convince himself as the ride started.

The ride felt like a roller coaster plus some other rides rolled into one with the constant feeling of vertigo the stoic youth was experiencing. But with the cold-and-cough combination Tezuka was experiencing, he didn't find it necessary to waste his voice shouting like everybody else did.

Aside from the inaudible screams of joy or terror, Tezuka swore he heard a squeal of terror beside him, much clearer than the boy sitting beside Fuji repetitively exclaiming 'ARIBA!'. He turned to the tensai and calmly instructed the other boy to cling onto his arm instead of straining himself from reaching out for the safety bar.

'_And Syusuke didn't bother telling me this…why?' _he thought in disappointment as the ride came to an end. The tensai later explained that he had a slight phobic of heights. Not bothering to question things further, the group headed off to try some parlor games.

Luck, however, was not on their side. No prizes –big or small – were won, so they left the carnival empty-handed. The short experience, however, was quite pleasant.

Tezuka and Fuji left the carnival to have a proper dinner along the road where both of their schools were. They got off at a certain establishment and entered a restaurant to get something to eat.

Earlier than they expected, but Tezuka was innately glad. They had a bit more time to themselves as soon as they reached his house. His mother texted him, apologizing that she wasn't able to prepare the downstairs guest room for them. He replied by saying that he and Fuji would be sleeping in his room instead, considering that he technically had two beds, one of which he could pull out for Fuji to sleep in.

And so they sat down to dinner in silence.

**TBC**

---

A/N: The latter part of this event shall be posted at a later time. Do look forward to it.


	20. The Sleepover

The Sleepover

Summary: A continuation to 'Carnival Day'; Tezuka's account on what transpired that night in his house until Fuji's departure. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Arriving home not long after being picked up, Tezuka led Fuji up to his room once more where they settled in. They did a couple of random things – which included checking their e-mails on Tezuka's laptop, watching a movie on TV – which Tezuka found strange that it was about a dog who had super powers again (A/N: The movie is 'Underdog') -, or just simply being in each other's company.

The stoic youth was already half-sleepy throughout this whole process that, with Fuji's constant prodding with the use of the two stuffed animals available to him (Diego and Kurt), caused him to unleash a tickle attack to the tensai' neck to get him to stop.

Besides the issue of deciding where they would be sleeping that night – for Tezuka had sternly told Fuji to take the top bed so he wouldn't have to fall off to the floor, they soon went to sleep after exchanging a goodnight kiss.

It was past midnight now. The night rolled by, and Tezuka was still half-awake when he heard Fuji collapse down onto the down bed with him. For about an hour – or so he estimated, Tezuka eventually moved up onto the empty top bed and settled to sleep there.

--

The morning after, Tezuka opened an eye to find that Fuji was already awake. He groaned and turned on his side to catch more sleep. Waking up once more, the stoic youth blinked himself slightly awake before he was bombarded by the tensai's attack, preventing him from going back to sleep.

'_I'm up, I'm up…' _he said in slight annoyance.

His cold was slowly disappearing, leaving him with a bad cough (or sore throat, to be more exact) to deal with. Fuji, Tezuka noted, was showing the same signs.

Going down to breakfast – as instructed by his mother, Tezuka ate heartily. With scrambled eggs and toast to feast on – though he realized he had digested more than the tensai did, Tezuka wondered whether he should have Fuji run laps for not deeming breakfast important enough to eat. He inwardly shook his head. _'He'll be too stubborn to do it…' _

Tezuka sighed. Fuji's relative had already messaged him, saying that they would be picking him up soon. It was a little past rendezvous time, and Tezuka's family needed to be heading off at 11. As Tezuka took a shower and got ready for the day, the stoic youth briefly recalled the night that had passed.

'_You did pretty well for your first sleepover, Syusuke… I hope it will only get better the next time around…'_

**TBC**

---


	21. Final Week

Final Week

Summary: Tezuka's premonition on the week ahead. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

'_The last week of school before the Christmas break…' _

Tezuka sighed. The week ahead was going to be quite hectic.

The stoic youth had a few minor papers to write, a Math long test on Thursday, a bibliography to do and a project due on Friday, his last two tennis practices on Tuesday and Thursday; not to mention documenting his organization's week-long celebrations in the org room and final caroling practices.

'_No more PE class or Literature class this week… I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, though…' _Tezuka thought to himself.

On one side, Tezuka had fewer classes to attend to, resulting to having more time to research for his bibliography (which he innately despised doing). On the other side, he needed to commit to his work diligently without being distracted by other things.

Tezuka shook his head. _'Kunimitsu, the sooner you get these things over with, the sooner you'll be free from everything for the Christmas break…' _he told himself firmly.

'…_Even if it means depriving yourself the privilege of meeting with Syusuke…'_ he added reluctantly. A deep sigh escaped him.

**TBC**

---


	22. Just One More

Just One More

Summary: After the hectic week, Tezuka has one more day of class to attend; ONE class. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka heaved a huge sigh of relief when he settled to bed. It was just past midnight when he had shut down his laptop and moved it back to his desk in the wee hours of Friday morning. In a few hours, he would be attending his last class of the year – his 9:30 English class. After that, he had his block Christmas party to attend to that afternoon at one of their blockmate's houses.

The buchou thought back to the events of the past week thus far:

Monday brought with it his final caroling practice where he had to stay in school until 9 in the evening. Not that the stoic youth minded, of course. _'I live to regret that until now.'_

By Tuesday, he had a break from caroling and had his final Japanese Literature class that morning. He was about halfway through with writing his myth/legend that was due Thursday, which Tezuka was quite proud of. He had visited the library right after class ended to check out some books that he thought would be helpful for his research paper.

He then met up with Kikumaru and Fuji for lunch at one of the restaurants across his school, the former of whom wanted to borrow something from him. _'At least I got to see Syusuke once this week…' _Later that same evening, Tezuka's coach had asked him to focus on his backhand – which the stoic youth silently thanked him for, considering the lack of rehabilitation his arm was receiving. At the end of the session, the tennis club had a meeting and decided on their officers. Tezuka was unanimously voted the Secretary. _'Honestly… just because I had some paper to write with for the meeting earlier…'_

Wednesday morning was his first Christmas party with his English and Literature block that was held at one of the cafes their former English professor had introduced them to. Tezuka had to admit that it was an eventful party, considering the exchange gifts and the food that were spread out. He had no complaints documenting it on camera. After attending his only class that day (Math), he spent some time in the org room, documenting the activity there, before heading home early with his father, who generously picked him up. His throat was as sore, there he didn't want to strain himself by attending the evening caroling. _'And I spent my days attending practice only to miss the ACTUAL caroling. Nice timing to have a sore throat, Kunimitsu…'_

When he got home, he dutifully finished typing up his myth/legend assignment and printed it out, ready for submission the next day. This task, however, had him spend most of the afternoon and evening, leaving him hardly any time to properly study for his Math test the following day.

Thursday gave Tezuka three headaches to worry about: the Math test, the computer project that was due the next day, and the bibliography for English. He got through the test before stepping out of the classroom after handing his test paper in. He shook his head. _'I am devoting more time to studying the sample problems next time…'_ he promised himself.

The stoic youth had decided to set the bibliography business behind for the time being; he had more pressing matters to attend to. He worked on his project in the computer lab along with some of his other course blockmates – they were supposed to make a Java Christmas animation using Graphics. _'This better be finished before tomorrow…'_

Tezuka later on attended his final tennis session for the year. It reminded him how much he wanted to play the whole day. When he was finished, he went home with his mother, who picked him up, before starting on his Java project.

In the midst of his work, a chat box popped up; it was one of Tezuka's blockmates from English/Literature. She was the beadle for their class who was in contact with their English teacher, and she confirmed that they were going to meet for class tomorrow, and the deadline for the bibliographies – originally the next day, Friday – was extended. Tezuka was relieved. _'I was right not to waste my time on that after all…'_ He got back to work.

He worked LATE into the night – asking some help from one of his blockmates on a certain issue at one point – before he finally finished. _'I'm not aiming for bonus points… I have something to submit that meets the requirements…'_ he told himself firmly.

---

Friday morning got the stoic youth to finally attend English class that morning. Just a talk on the bibliography and about one of their previous essay discussions were done before he went to the computer lab to get something printed that he needed to submit for his project.

Tezuka finally sighed in relief. Things were over. Classes were done. Now there was tomorrow to look forward to. _'Just a few more hours, Syusuke... I'm looking forward to it...' _

Tomorrow to look forward to. And the day after that.

**TBC**


	23. A Reunion with the Regulars

A Reunion with the Regulars

Summary: Saturday comes with a reunion with some of the Seigaku Regulars at a local mall. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

Note: Just some clarifications:

TYDK = Things You Don't Know (Bloodysamurai's part)  
TIWtK = Things I Want to Know (my part)

This reunion is based on a real life experience.

------

Tezuka woke up slightly to his phone alarm clock. 8 am. He groaned before shifting on his bed, wanting to catch a few more minutes of shut-eye. To his disdain, he woke up 15 minutes later before he finally settled and got out of bed, heading to the shower.

It was nearly a week before did he have a chat with some of the old Seigaku regulars about having a little reunion of sorts today. Echizen had declined due to previous arrangements that Saturday, Inui was out of contact and Kawamura had to attend to his family's sushi shop alongside his father, and had to reluctantly decline the offer as well.

Both Tezuka and Fuji had confirmed that Oishi, Kikumaru, Momoshiro and Kaidoh were free that Saturday to meet up. The venue was the mall the two had went to for their monthsary celebration.

--

Fuji had sent Tezuka a message, saying that he would be a little late. It was nearly 9 am as the stoic youth shrugged. _'Count on Syusuke to leave the house just now…' _he mused with himself. He decided to continue checking his e-mail. He and Fuji were riding with his parents, who wanted to do some shopping at the same mall.

At around 9:40, Fuji had messaged the buchou that he was outside waiting in one of the establishments just outside his subdivisions. Tezuka and his parents left the house and picked the tensai up before they were on their way.

--

Tezuka and Fuji went to the meeting place promptly after the car was parked, separating from the stoic youth's parents as they made a long walk around the mall. Fuji's phone was vibrating as the tensai went to answer it; it was Kikumaru. Tezuka took the phone and talked with him. The acrobatic player was complaining how long Momoshiro was taking.

Kikumaru had agreed to head to the mall with the underclassman since they didn't live all too far from each other. Tezuka was calmly explaining to Kikumaru that he should wait as long as he needs to, provided that they don't take _too _long to keep them waiting forever.

Tezuka sighed inwardly as he handed the phone back to the owner. Disoriented for a moment, he looked around and realized that he had led Fuji and himself off-course. He turned around and led Fuji off to their meeting place.

--

Upon reaching the coffee shop where they were to meet – the same one Tezuka and Fuji went to -, Tezuka and Fuji both bought some blended coffee to pass the time (and help the buchou get a limited edition planner from the said coffee shop) and situated themselves at one of the tables just outside the coffee shop where they were going to wait for the others.

While waiting, Fuji was busy texting Oishi, Kaidoh and Kikumaru that they were already waiting while Tezuka was busy attending to his drink in peace.

The first to arrive was Kaidoh. Tezuka was a bit surprised at the change in the underclassman's outward appearance – including a change in the bandana he usually sported. Kaidoh greeted them courteously before going into the shop to order something to drink as well, not after the stoic youth had coaxed the younger into helping him with getting the planner. Tezuka had excused himself and gone off back inside to claim his planner after thanking Kaidoh for his help.

Tezuka sat back down with Fuji and Kaidoh, who were talking about one of the clubs Kaidoh had joined. _'They're attending the same university, after all…' _the buchou concluded with an inward shrug. He opted to listen in on the conversation and merely gave inquiries while waiting for the remaining three to arrive.

Oishi was the next to arrive. The former fukubuchou was just as cheerful as Tezuka remembered. Among the group, he took up the same course as Fuji and Kaidoh did but in a different university that was quite far. There were various stories shared among the foursome about Oishi's university – where Kaidoh had found time to visit due to his extra-curricular activities -, which led them back down memory lane of their days back in junior high.

It was already past 11 am and there was still no sign of Kikumaru and Momoshiro. Tezuka shook his head. _'I swear I'll make them run laps if they make us wait any longer…'_ he vowed to himself.

Oishi then received a text. It was from Momoshiro, stating that they were already in the mall, trying to find their way to the coffee shop. Tezuka raised an eyebrow but decided not to press the matter. They spotted the two arriving from the escalator. After meeting up, they headed off to have lunch.

It took them a while – and Tezuka swore he was immensely irritated with the acrobatic player's constant clinging onto him as they walked – before Kikumaru decided on a place to eat. Tezuka had noticed – and pointed out to the tensai – that Kikumaru's actions were unsettling Fuji. His boyfriend, of course, was in a state of denial. _'Not that I expected him to admit it so openly…'_ he added with a shrug.

They all sat down together at a table and partook of their lunch while talking about quite a number of topics (A/N: Which you will find in Chapter 28 of TYDK), but not after Kikumaru had pointed out to the others that Tezuka and Fuji were together, to which only Kaidoh was surprised.

While waiting for Momoshiro to finish with his meatballs, Tezuka received a call from his mother, stating where they were having lunch. When the group had agreed to go to the arcade after this, Tezuka excused himself to meet with his parents - subconsciously dragging Fuji along with him – before Kikumaru whined that they would come along with them.

Tezuka shrugged. Kaidoh, Kikumaru and Momoshiro led the way to where the restaurant the stoic youth's parents were before he entered, leaving his acquired planner with his mother before suggesting that they extend their stay for at least 30 more minutes so that the group could part ways together.

'_That should give the group a bit more time to practice their songs…'_ Tezuka thought to himself, thinking about the caroling group that was coming to his house later. Tezuka quickly re-introduced the Regulars to his parents before they finally headed off to the arcade.

The buchou found himself playing a number of games either with Fuji, Oishi or Kikumaru lest he played alone. They finished the day off with a photobooth session to document their meeting properly. As they waited for the people before them to finish, Tezuka groaned at his previous experience with the machine when he was with Fuji.

'_There'll always be next time…' _he told himself with an inward sigh as they crowded themselves into the booth. Each of them had four pictures (they had two turns at the booth) to take home before they finally went their separate ways after Tezuka's father had called him, saying that he was already at the rendezvous place.

Tezuka practically dragged Fuji along with him down a few floors and to the designated place. They found the buchou's father in one of the shops looking for something, his mother nowhere in sight. Waiting for a moment, they browsed one of the stalls where a few gaming equipment was being sold. It didn't take long before Tezuka's mother arrived and they headed for home.

--

The buchou thought it best to spend some time while waiting for his caroling group to arrive to play something with the tensai. He powered up the Wii in one of the rooms and started playing some tennis with Fuji. It wasn't long before his phone rang. He paused the game and answered it. It was their carol head stating that they were already outside. Tezuka hurried out of the room and out the house to finally spot the group. He opened the gate to let them enter before rushing inside to turn the Wii off for the time being.

Once the group was inside, he realized that he was the only Tenor in the group; and although their choir head could do Tenor or Bass, the stoic youth wondered if his voice could even manage their repertoire of songs. Still, he lined himself up in their arrangement and coaxed Fuji into sitting down with his parents. The tensai, declined, but was later on offered a seat by the stoic youth's mother.

Tezuka shook his head. _'It's no wonder you don't listen to me…'_ he said in slight disappointment before the group began their songs.

By the end of their last song - Joy to the World -, Tezuka apologized for his voice being as it was – as he was still suffering from a sore throat – to both his group and to his parents and Fuji. He declined the offer of joining for the rest of the caroling that day, owing to the fact that 1) Fuji was still there, 2) his voice being in such a state would only cause them trouble and 3) he would only be a burden to their already cramped transportation.

After escorting them out to their car, Tezuka retreated into the house and resumed playing with Fuji. It wasn't long before the tensai had to leave. They managed to hitch a ride with Tezuka's mother, who was going to the salon and got down at the gate of the subdivision before walking Fuji down a bit before they parted ways when they bumped into the buchou's father.

As Tezuka walked back home with his father and their dog, the stoic youth was contemplating heavily on the past few hours.

'_We were alone in the house for a time… So why didn't I settle down and exchange a kiss with Syusuke?' _he asked himself. He wasn't sure if it was because he was feeling a little bit guilty with how things went with Kikumaru earlier on – until now, Tezuka was _sure _his boyfriend was being stingy about the issue -, or if it was simply because he forgot to. He shuddered to think that it was the second.

'_I should honestly stop anticipating things to happen when I could just do it myself… Especially when it comes to Syusuke…'_ he told himself firmly. When he reached home, he headed up to his room. He powered up his laptop and moved it to his bed.

'_Two weeks… Without seeing Syusuke…' _Tezuka frowned at the mere thought of it. Christmas and New Year, he realized, were just around the corner. And here he was, stupid enough not to make the most of their last meeting for the year as memorable as could be. He mentally slapped himself. _'Baka Kunimitsu… You KNOW you could've done more for him…'_

He stared at the screen of his laptop, awaiting its owner to type in the password. _'If only you knew how much you were on my mind when I'm alone like this, Syusuke… If only that thought alone was reassurance for you… That I'll always be worried about you... But there are times when we have to think about the other people around us… And bask in their company and spend time with them… Let's endure this time apart, Syusuke… then we can spend our second monthsary with a bigger celebration than the first…'_

**TBC**


	24. New Specs

New Specs

Summary: Tezuka accompanies his parents to go shopping and get himself new glasses. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka was sitting down in the back seat after lunch. They were headed to another mall that Sunday afternoon so that her mother could finish her Christmas shopping. The only reason the stoic youth came along was because he needed to have his glasses replaced.

When they arrived, their first stop was to the optical shop. They stayed there for a little while so that Tezuka could have his eyes re-examined. When that was done, he and his mother picked out a new frame for his new glasses.

'_Syusuke's been bothering me about replacing them, anyway…'_ he thought to himself as the doctor told them to come back for it after about 2 hours.

And so Tezuka separated himself from his parents and would meet up with them after going around. He spent most of that time in contemplation. It wasn't long before his mother had texted him, saying that she was at a bookstore.

The stoic youth made a knowing trek around the mall to get to the bookstore. He looked at a few of the mangas there before heading out. While his mother entered the toy store next door, Tezuka approached an ice cream stall and purchased himself some to enjoy while he was waiting.

'_I really want to take you to an excellent restaurant for our second monthsary, Syusuke… I should start saving up so we can eat there since it's a bit expensive…' _Tezuka thought to himself as he looked at the spread of the ice cream he was holding. He shrugged. Only a day had passed, and he was already missing the tensai.

He finished his ice cream to distract him of such thoughts before his father accompanied him to pick up his new glasses. When he slipped them on, he blinked a few times. Something was wrong with the right lens since it was blurry – and not to mention the buchou was feeling a bit dizzy-, but he figured he just needed to adjust.

But after a while, he told his mother about it before they returned to the optical store to inquire about it.

The doctor said that it was an error in centering and offered to fix it for about an hour. Tezuka and his parents took this opportunity to have an early dinner; another Italian feast for the stoic youth. _'Pizza from three different restaurants… How convenient…'_ he said in sarcasm as he ate.

They passed by the optical store for the third time to pick up his glasses. He slipped them on and to his relief, everything was clear. They thanked the clerk before Tezuka and his parents headed to where their car was parked to head home.

**TBC**


	25. Hat Party

Hat Party

Summary: After returning from a reunion with his high school friends, Tezuka attends his choir's Christmas hat party. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now. Peter Pan isn't mine, either.

------

Tezuka rummaged through his drawers to relocate a particular hat that he would be wearing for the party. The stoic youth, by mere coincidence (or by mistake, he couldn't really tell), was wearing his Seigaku jersey that day. He looked down at his shorts – _'I look like Jirou from Hyoutei with these particular shorts…'_ he scolded himself with a shake of his head before he returned to his search.

He pulled out a green hat and a red feather not far from it. He slipped the feather knowingly into the holes before he examined it. The Peter Pan hat he had gotten when he and his parents had visited Disneyland. _'I figured this would be used in these types of occasions…'_ he told himself before closing his drawer.

Tezuka went to the party with one of his cousins who brought along a Mad Hatter hat. She was, after all, a part of the choir as well. When they arrived, they greeted those who were already there. There were a variety of hats they were wearing, which amused the buchou inwardly. _'I wonder what kind of hat Syusuke would've brought to this type of gathering…'_ he mused to himself.

'_I can already see the look on Syusuke's face if he sees me wearing this…' _Tezuka added as he took off his Peter Pan hat and examined it, a small smile on his face. This smile, however, quickly faltered when his mind lingered on Fuji. _'So it's one day less of that two-week separation… Can't time go by any faster? Or can we just find time to see each other?' _

Tezuka was stirred out of his thoughts when the games were about to start. He moved to participate in them – not that the stoic youth had any other choice. He set his bag down - along with his hat – on his seat before moving to listen to the instructions for the games.

**TBC**


	26. An Afternoon Snack

An Afternoon Snack

Summary: With nothing to do, Tezuka heads downstairs to grab himself a little snack. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka woke up at around 10 in the morning. The stoic youth rubbed his eyes of the last of his sleep before finally deciding to get up. Not that he had anything to do today besides staying in the house and wasting his time in front of the laptop or watch some TV.

--

After he took a shower, he went down to lunch before he eventually settled back in his room. He lied in bed in front of his laptop typing up a few things and visiting a few sites. He even managed to catch Fuji online and chatted with him before he had to prepare for a Christmas party to attend to. _'Well, my celebrations are over, thank goodness…'_ he thought to himself.

At around 4 in the afternoon, the stoic youth decided to head downstairs to look for something to snack on. Remembering that he had a bar of chocolate that he received from one of his classmates last Wednesday, he popped open the refrigerator to hunt it down. _'I haven't had any chocolate in a while…'_ he reasoned with himself as he found it where he left it and took it out before heading back upstairs.

As Tezuka settled down onto his bed, he looked at the bar of Meiji milk chocolate before shaking his head. _'This would've been something good to share with Syusuke…'_ he said slowly to himself before he broke it into small bits and ate each one as he watched a random show on TV.

The buchou pulled Kurt into his arms as his bell sounded. "At least you're my constant reminder, Kurt… A constant reminder that Syusuke…" he trailed off, looking at the stuffed dog with a small smile, stroking it before he returned his attention to his show, popping another piece of chocolate into his mouth. _'…that Syusuke returns my love for him… And has already loved me long before I realized it…'_

**TBC**


	27. Past Midnight

Past Midnight

Summary: Tezuka and Fuji chat with each other late into the night. A continuation of the previous chapter 'An Afternoon Snack'. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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Tezuka came home from a particular restaurant with his family. His mother had invited them to eat out as she was meeting an old officemate of hers who was visiting. Tezuka and his father, along with his two cousins, headed off to the designated restaurant – which, the stoic youth pointed out, was the same place he had gone to the day before to meet up with his high school friends. _'First pizza is repeated three consecutive times… and now venues. What's next?' _he thought to himself.

He powered up his laptop and settled onto bed with it. Deciding to grab a shower now, he left his laptop for a while and went off to the bathroom. When he returned, he saw the ever-familiar chat box with fishes on his screen. He smirked.

Fuji mentioned that he had come back from a party himself, and Tezuka chuckled. _'Yes, Syusuke. We're back in synchro once more,' _he thought to himself as Fuji typed it out.

The two were chatting about random things as was their usual custom, which reminded Tezuka greatly of the days before when they were just online and working on their roleplay together. _'The only difference is, we have a lot more things to talk about than just one thing, ne?' _

It was around this time did he bring up a date to the tensai: The 26th. It took Fuji a while to understand – and to the point where Tezuka had an outside source (Diego) explain to the tensai - what he had meant by mentioning the date. _'Consider it two celebrations, then…'_ he said to himself when Fuji mentioned about it being someone's birthday (A/N: Shirota Yuu's birthday, just so you're curious). So long as there wasn't going to be any other plans on that day, Tezuka had scheduled another date for them. The venue was yet to be agreed upon.

When Fuji had mentioned how commuting to the stoic youth's house took up quite a sum of money, Tezuka was reminded of something and asked him for directions to get to the tensai's house. Once two ways were explained, Tezuka – unsure why – started conversing with him in third person.

The rest of their conversation proceeded in this style. The exchange resulted in a debate of sorts between the two that involved Tezuka wanting to commute on his own to Fuji's house, and Fuji being concerned for the stoic youth's safety (A/N: Some parts of this conversation have been divulged by BS in TYDK's Chapter 32). The debate ended with Tezuka conceding to allow Fuji to show him the way.

The next part of their series of third-person talking included Tezuka's inquiry about what Fuji had mentioned in his journal. The buchou turned to Kurt for a moment. "Syusuke just wants to play around with my mind, doesn't he?" he asked the stuffed dog. He shook his head and played along with the tensai's guessing game, ultimately finding out that his first guess was the right one after all.

Now past 2 in the morning, Tezuka stifled a yawn before bidding Fuji a good night, coupled with a declaration of 'I Love You' and emoticons of a hug and a kiss, all done in third person before he signed out of the messenger and subsequently shut down his laptop.

**TBC**

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Note: Based on real life experiences.


	28. Kunimitsu's Response

Kunimitsu's Response and Christmas Celebration

Summary: After reading Fuji's Christmas message for him (Chapter 33 of TYDK), Tezuka types up a reply.

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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Syusuke,

Christmas is indeed that time of giving and receiving; a time to spend time with the people closest to us. Our relationship together has already lasted this long, we could now be considered each other's 'special someone'.

However, such a meeting with our family and relatives hinders us from being together. It's understandable, at least at this point in time. But yes, as I have said before, let's take this opportunity to return the favor to our family and relatives and spend time with them. We'll have more than enough time in each other's company afterwards.

As the season continues on – now that it's past 2 in the morning – for the next 22 hours, let it serve as a countdown for our own plans to be executed.

Enjoy the time you have to spend with your loved ones, Syusuke; treasure every moment. And always remember that we are always loved by someone.

I'm grateful that we found each other to share that love - eternally. So, Merry Christmas, Syusuke. I love you.

Yours forever,

Kunimitsu

**TBC**


	29. Kunimitsu's Christmas

Kunimitsu's Christmas

Summary: A look into Tezuka's Christmas celebration with his family and relatives. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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The time was 10:43 pm of the 24th of December. Tezuka had been chatting with Fuji while waiting for his other relatives to arrive. They were spending Christmas Eve at their house – which included the opening of presents, of course. He hastily bid the tensai farewell, signed off the messenger and shut down his laptop before heading downstairs at the beck and call of his parents.

The stoic youth greeted his cousins and aunts and uncles as they entered the house in an orderly fashion, each of them carrying a handful of gifts.

Tezuka's little nephew – son of one of his older cousin and his wife -, after greeting everybody, had called out for him. "UNCLE MITSU!"

"Seems he wants to play with the Wii again," the boy's father pointed out.

Tezuka shook his head lightly as he was dragged into the play room by his nephew. He was always the little boy's playmate whenever he would be in the house. _'Not that I mind it…'_ he said to himself as he powered up the game console.

After a round of random games with the little boy, his father cheerfully shouted a 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' around the house, resulting in everybody else greeting one another as it was well past midnight now.

Tezuka found it strange that the air didn't feel like it was Christmas. Whether it was because one of their family of close relatives that usually spent Christmas with them had migrated off to Canada or some other reason, he was not feeling the spirit of it all. A small Christmas feast was present, relatives were around, presents were sorted into piles for each person, Christmas decorations around the house and everyone was cheerful.

'_Am I thinking about Syusuke too much to feel that it's Christmas?' _he concluded slowly. He frowned.

The stoic youth moved to the gathering where the traditional do-a-presentation-to-get-your-gifts began. Tezuka had decided to do something with his younger cousin and sing/recite a little altered Christmas song (A/N: an altered version of the Christmas Alphabet), as a means of channeling their youngest cousin's presence for the celebration.

Tezuka had then recalled how he was close with his two younger cousins. It was safe to assume that Tezuka was the voice of reason for the practically crazy antics the two younger ones had often pulled off. But he never grew tired of their company. _'Things just ended up being that way…'_ he concluded to himself.

When all was done, he began opening his pile of presents. Tezuka had to hide his chuckle at the three books he had received – two of which came from one of his aunts (those he wasn't particularly looking for, but his aunt recommended them), while the other was one he had been anticipating (A/N: The 6th Artemis Fowl book, if you must know).

Tezuka paused when he had opened a gift from one of his older cousins – who was going to get married sometime next year; it was a chicken keychain, to which he raised an eyebrow at. He later on shook his head and continued opening the rest of his presents.

The last one he opened – on purpose - was one that he had requested from his mother to get for him. It was a Yorkshire terrier stuffed dog (A/N: If you may be asking why a Yorkshire: Takigawa Eiji, TeniMyu 1st generation Tezuka, owns a Yorkshire terrier by the name of Pearl). Not many people knew about it, but the stoic youth was quite fond of collecting stuffed animals – quite a number of which occupied two sections of his closet.

He stuffed most of his presents into a bag one of his aunts gave to him before he was dragged off one final time to play Wii with his nephew.

--

It was now 3 in the morning. Tezuka had taken a picture of Kurt, Diego and Sasha (the name of the Yorkshire stuffed doll) with his phone to use as wallpaper before powering up his laptop to see the contents of the CD one of his cousins had given to him for Christmas.

'_I highly doubt Syusuke would even bother going online after what he's warned me about...'_ he thought to himself with a sigh. _'Well… Merry Christmas to us both, Syusuke…' _

Tezuka looked around his room at the different gifts he received – both from his family and relatives, as well as his classmates. _'I hope you received a hefty pile of presents yourself, Syusuke…' _

**TBC**

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Note: Just reminding you all that these chapters are based on real life experiences.


	30. Kunimitsu's Christmas Part 2

Kunimitsu's Christmas – Part 2

Summary: How Tezuka spent Christmas day. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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Feigning the 9:00 alarm he had set on his phone, Tezuka stopped it and shifted in his bed to catch a few more minutes of sleep. About an hour later, he was stirred by his message alert tone. He groaned before fishing around for the phone and rubbed his eyes as he opened the message. It was from Fuji.

The stoic youth blinked before typing up a reply and promptly got out of bed, rubbing his eyes once more. They were quite heavy – which he supposed came from the fact that he had slept at almost 4 in the morning, having started reading one of the books he had received for Christmas – but Tezuka ignored this and headed to the shower.

--

After lunch, Tezuka found time to use his laptop and decided to continue archiving the second of his and Fuji's roleplays, having finished the other one last night. It didn't take long before a familiar chat box popped up and he got to chat with the tensai. After a light scolding from the tensai that he should be enjoying himself instead of archiving, Tezuka decided to switch tactics and do something else to occupy his time.

Today's topic with Fuji surprised the stoic youth with the mention of adoptions and such that involved two of the tensai's younger relatives. Tezuka shook his head in mild amusement. _'Honestly, now…'_ Deciding to play along – partially because he wouldn't want to be the one to ruin their fun on Christmas Day, Tezuka had agreed to certain terms, but decided not to dwell too much on answering most of their inquiries for the lack of a good enough answer – or simply that he was attending to something else to be bothered to answer such inquiries.

When Tezuka was sure that Fuji was the one he was conversing with once more – since the two had hijacked the tensai's laptop to chat with him, as stated by his boyfriend through text -, he regretted to inform him that his family needed to get ready to leave to visit the cemetery.

As they passed through the familiar road where both his and Fuji's schools were located – and where they subsequently spent a lot of their little dates in the various restaurants there, Tezuka noticed a certain food establishment that had recently finished its renovation and was open for business once again. He pulled out his phone and texted the tensai, suggesting that they meet up there instead.

The reply he received was priceless. Apparently Fuji did not know that it had re-opened. _'Shows you how often I actually still pass this place during the Christmas break…' _he told himself.

It was raining on their way to the cemetery, but they pursued their visit to the buchou's grandmother. To their relief, the rain had ceased long enough for them to stay for a while and wait for a few of their other relatives to join them in paying their respects and greeting Tezuka's grandmother a Merry Christmas.

When night fell, they all headed off to have dinner at one of the relative's houses, where Tezuka spent most of his time upstairs in his younger cousin's room. He almost always avoided mingling with the adults when such parties/get-togethers was scheduled. _'It saves me the trouble of repetitively explaining myself…' _he told himself.

'_Well, at least there's meeting with Syusuke tomorrow to look forward to…'_ he reassured himself.

---

Arriving home from the party, he powered up his laptop, not really expecting to catch Fuji online when his mother entered his room. In truth, the stoic youth had only asked for permission about meeting with the tensai after lunch. His mother had been reluctant about letting him go, since she had just started on her own Christmas break from work the following day. After explaining to her that it would just be for the afternoon, she had agreed.

Tezuka turned to his mother when she entered and said, "I'll let you go tomorrow if you promise me something."

"What is it?"

"That you accompany to do the grocery shopping on Saturday," she replied. "Your father won't be around," she added.

'_A fair bargain, mother…'_ he said sarcastically to himself before agreeing without a second thought. "I don't mind."

Tezuka's mother smiled before she noticed a pile of batteries sitting on one of his shelves. "Are those used batteries?" she inquired. Tezuka nodded before he watched his mother move across the hall, calling out for Tezuka's father. "Honey, where's your container for the old batteries? Kunimitsu has a lot of them collected in his room."

Tezuka shrugged. _'If you must know, those came from using the digital camera I carry around to school...' _he told no one in particular as his mother re-entered his room and started taking the batteries off his shelf and into a container. "Is there any other place we could put all these books?" he inquired, pointing to a collection of children's books that were lined up in his shelf his parents had bought for him and his cousins through the years.

"Do you want to get rid of them? We could always give them away to your nephew, of course," was his mother's reply.

Tezuka frowned. "It would be a waste," he reasoned.

His mother nodded. "Well, we can put them in storage in the room downstairs," she suggested.

Tezuka nodded. "Perhaps that would be the best option," the stoic youth replied as he took a glance around his room. "I plan to fix up my room Saturday afternoon…" he said randomly, knowing how his mother had always reminded him to do so.

"Well, that's good. I could help you if you like."

Tezuka paused for a moment to contemplate on this before nodding. "Aa. That would make things more efficient," he replied.

**TBC**


	31. Spur of the Moment

Spur of the Moment

Summary: What happened during Tezuka and Fuji's date after Christmas Day. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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December 26. The day had arrived. Tezuka had asked Fuji out on a simple date a few days back, more to satisfy their unsaid wishes of seeing one another in the two week break from school. Tezuka did not understand why he offered, but he was innately glad for doing so. _'Seeing Syusuke is never a bad thing…' _he concluded.

After lunch, Tezuka's mother offered to drop him off at their rendezvous place. The stoic youth decided to make use of his new bag, subconsciously slipping his new Yorkshire stuffed dog Sasha inside along with his oversized umbrella. After texting the tensai for a while, he got off at the bookstore where Fuji said he was and found him exiting the said area. _'What explicit timing you have, Syusuke,'_ he teased inwardly as he bid his mother farewell.

Tezuka pulled the dog out of his bag and presented her to Fuji – this was the first time the tensai would be seeing Sasha. The tensai, as Tezuka expected, gave off a vibrant reaction of enthusiasm towards the Yorkshire stuffed dog. _'Easily distracted…'_ the stoic youth noted, shaking his head.

They were going to spend the afternoon at a mall that was only a train ride away; where they had usually gone off to coming from school as it was so accessible. When they arrived, their first stop was one of the book stores there Tezuka thought of purchasing himself a manga (A/N: Death Note, for those who are curious XD) to complete his collection of the series. He was pleased to find out that out of the 5 remaining volumes he needed to collect, 3 of which were available.

He took two of them down and went in search of Fuji. He held them up to him. "Which one should I get?" Tezuka was holding volume 1 and volume 3 of the series to the tensai.

Fuji, picked the former of the two, to which Tezuka agreed and eventually purchased. _'This could be considered something my older cousin purchased for me as a Christmas present…'_ he thought to himself, thinking back on the amount of money he received in a sealed envelope that came from one of his oulder cousins who had migrated to Canada along with the rest of her family.

When that was done, they headed upstairs to the arcade. Tezuka was more than eager to play a game of Virtua Tennis. Of course, this also reminded him of some other activity that he and the tensai needed to do while they were there. Much to the captain's annoyance, there was always someone there playing the particular version he liked and settled for the older version. Fuji was hovering behind him for a time while he played, and he just knew it was the tensai who had challenged him on the other side – since he _had _swiped the card. The game ended with Tezuka winning. When he had finally lost, he looked over and offered to the tensai that they play a doubles game in Virtua Tennis 3, to which Fuji agreed.

Tezuka realized, at this point, that Fuji must have been away from tennis long enough for them to not be able to coordinate properly. Even if it was just a video game, Tezuka took it seriously. _'That's so we don't waste the money we spend playing it,' _he reasoned to himself.

After engaging themselves in a few more games, Tezuka led Fuji into a karaoke booth before figuring out how to close the door – since it did not appear to have a handle to close it from the inside. Once he managed to close it efficiently – and assuring himself that they'd be able to open it afterwards -, Tezuka picked up the songbook.

He flipped through the songbook, primarily wanting to look for a song he was sure Fuji would know – in fact, he wanted to find a song that he knew was the tensai's favorite, but it wasn't there. But he settled for another song and punched in the code and started singing.

Personally, Tezuka wouldn't even go near one of these things, but he happened to know that the tensai had wanted to hear the stoic youth sing, and he did not want to disappoint this unsaid wish. After he sang, he pushed the songbook into Fuji's hands, urging him to sing a song or two as well.

When they had spent enough time there, they left and played a few more games before deciding to call it quits and headed off. Tezuka veered off to purchase some ice cream for himself (A/N: One should never ignore Dairy Queen ice cream when a branch is nearby) and enjoyed himself with it as they sat themselves down at a table to chat about their long-resting roleplays. Tezuka shared with the tensai that he was nearly through archiving the second of the two roleplays he was to archive.

He watched as the tensai was playing with Sasha most eagerly as he partook of his Choco Kit Kat ice cream, which brought a small smile to the stoic youth's features. When he was through, they decided to head back via train and have an early dinner at the newly renovated restaurant.

'_I think I understand why I brought Sasha along with me…'_ Tezuka thought to himself as he had the stuffed dog playfully kiss the tensai. By surprise.

'_Gomen, Syusuke… I think I'm still a bit hesitant when it comes to expressing myself… especially in public… So, allow me to express my love in different, if not obscure manners. Realize that behind all these gestures, I will always love you.'_

Tezuka's phone vibrated. He frowned when it was his mother, saying that she was there to pick him up. He bid his farewells to Fuji before they parted. _'Our last meeting before the new year…'_ he thought in his head as he boarded his mother's car to head home.

**TBC**


	32. Packing

Packing

Summary: Tezuka is packing his bags for a trip with his mother and some of his other relatives. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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Tezuka had returned home after spending most of the late morning and early afternoon in the mall/grocery with his mother and one of his cousins. They had done quite a number of things that day, besides doing the grocery shopping – his cousin had gotten herself a new pair of glasses, as well as a pair of contact lenses for her cosplaying. They also went to check out the newly built annex of the mall, though it was yet to be occupied by stores to actually do any decent shopping.

One of his aunts – one of his mother's many sisters, called, suggesting that they head out as a group to some sort of resort for a day and spend the night there. Tezuka's family was like this. During breaks like this, they would plan a road trip and then spend a night at their destination. Not that the stoic youth minded it, of course.

They finally arrived back home before Tezuka returned home. He looked around at his room – particularly, at his shelves – and heaved a sigh. _'Looks like this will have to wait…' _he told himself as his mother reminded him and his cousin to start packing for tomorrow's sudden trip.

'_There'll be a Wi-Fi connection there, Syusuke… I'll be bringing my laptop along so we can still chat somehow… Otherwise, I'll end up editing the roleplays for a lack of anything better to do…' _Tezuka vowed.

Tezuka sighed. The dinner bell echoed throughout the house. _'I'll be packing after dinner… Mother says we need to sleep early tonight for our early start tomorrow… I do hope I manage to chat with you even just for a while tonight, Syusuke… If not… well, you know where to reach me, then…'_

**TBC**


	33. Escapade Day 1

Escapade – Day 1

Summary: Tezuka heads out of town with some of his relatives. Below are events of the day. First person PoV. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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My phone alarm went off at exactly 7 o'clock in the morning. Moaning in bed, I decide to have myself a few more minutes of sleep as I move onto my other side. A few minutes hereafter, I'm woken up by my mother, who urges me to take a shower in the hallway bathroom to make use of the hot water.

Rubbing my eyes sleepily, I grab my towel off its hanger and head off into the bathroom. Emerging a few minutes later, I move to get dressed. I had only a few more things to pack – deciding long before that Sasha will be coming along – and stuffed them into either of the two bags I was going to bring for the overnight trip.

I got into the back of the van that my mother owned, along with the two cousins of mine who lived with us. We left the house at a little past 8 and headed off to pick up my aunt and her son, both of whom would be riding along with us for the trip.

The rendezvous point was, again, the newly renovated food establishment where Syusuke and I had eaten dinner two days prior to this trip. This was where we met up with our other relatives and consequently had breakfast.

We eventually started off on our way. We were three cars altogether. I sat myself in the back seat of the van with the rest of the baggage, keeping myself busy with either trying to get some sleep, listening to songs off my iPod or exchanging conversations with the other people in the vehicle.

Our first stopover was at a house with over 2000 Santa figures/decorations, where we also ended up having lunch – subsequently having food be delivered from the same food establishment as where we had breakfast (A/N: The ever reliable McDonald's). While waiting, I headed inside the house and took some pictures – as requested by my mother before emerging from the 'Santa house' to be graced with six of my cousins sitting around a table about to play a board game of 'Clue' (A/N: We all know the detective board game, I presume?).

I watched them play and offered some insight every now and then to clarify some points. I had presumed they would have known how to play the game, since most – if not all – of them were older than me and will have played the game at least once or twice before. I shook my head in disapproval. _'Shouldn't blame them for not remembering…' _I told myself.

Not long after, our lunch arrived, and we partook of it with much anticipation. We had ourselves some short photo shoots around the area – which, at one point, had me climbing up a cargo net to try and stand up on a tree branch. _'Not with all the stuff I'm carrying…' _I reasoned with myself as I settled to climb a reasonable amount and dangle there long enough to have a picture taken along with some of my other cousins.

'_I'm almost sure Syusuke would coax me to do this again if he were given the chance…'_ I swore to myself. I honestly didn't mind doing things like this – _'If I could help it…' _– so long as the people involved are happy.

Our next stop was to find the actual place we would be spending the night. It was a long drive, and I found myself falling asleep – and eventually did – with Sasha in my arms. _'The fluffiness of this stuffed Yorkshire is just too comforting…' _I tell myself, snuggling it closer as I enjoyed my short nap during our road trip.

The drive into the actual place was a long one uphill - literally so. Not that it was a horrifying experience – though I wouldn't be able to say the same for my cousin who was sitting up front.

We checked in and found our rooms – I was roomed with the same people in the van I was in. Not that I would complain, of course. _'So long as I sleep in a bed, I'm just fine.' _We headed off to another resort not far off for the older ones to try out the casino – not that the rest of us had anything else to do - before heading to eat dinner somewhere.

It didn't take long before our big group returned to the resort we would be staying in. I had brought along my laptop – to access the Wi-Fi internet to upload the pictures and hopefully sneak myself a chat with Syusuke in the process. I headed out of our room to get a connection – since the Wi-Fi didn't reach that far – with my laptop balanced in one arm as I ascended the stairs to where my two cousins – who also brought along their laptops – were before I tripped. I stumbled quite a bit before I landed on my knees, scraping them hard against the rock paths.

Surprisingly, my laptop remained balanced on my one arm. _'I'm not sure where I should be awed or otherwise…'_ I thought to myself as my mother escorted me to clean up my new wounds. As I sat in the bathroom with my mother assisting me, I shrugged. _'Syusuke would surely scold me for letting my guard down…'_ I told myself with a shake of my head.

Sure enough, when I had returned to my laptop and accessed the net, I found Syusuke online and told him about my little accident. _'How easy it is to anticipate his reactions…' _I admitted with a faint chuckle.

I checked the time. It was just past 10 in the evening, and I had to take a night shower before I headed off to spend some time with my cousins engaging with playing that board game. _'I wonder what tomorrow will have for us?'_

**TBC**


	34. Escapade Day 2

Escapade – Day 2

Summary: Part two of Tezuka's out-of-town trip. Again, in first person PoV. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

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A particular song emerged from one of the cell phones of my cousins. I recalled playing the board game until about past 12 midnight before we all decided to head to bed. My mother and my aunt took the two beds in the smaller room to themselves while the five of us – me and four of my older cousins – made do with the two queen-size beds and the futon on the floor. I had suggested that I take the futon, to which I was innately glad that no one contested me.

I moved onto my side and searched for my own phone that I had set an alarm on. _'I know that's not my phone, but where is it?' _I thought in frustration, having me sit up and look around blindly for it. Finally managing to grab hold of it, I collapsed back into bed to get myself more sleep for the day ahead.

I woke up a second time to my mother and aunt already up and about to head out. I decided to get up as well and grab myself a morning shower. When that was done, I packed up some things and decided to bring my laptop along to breakfast to hopefully catch Syusuke online for a little while. I sent the tensai a message about this and was pleased to know that he would be going online. Heading out to the poolside, I turned on my laptop as most of my other cousins were enjoying themselves in the pool. After I managed to find a connection and logged onto the chat messenger, I saw him online.

I was about to proceed to chat with him, but he suddenly logged off. I frowned. _'Connection problem on his end, I suppose…'_ I concluded before I looked through my messenger and decided to chat with one of my cousins, whose family was in Canada. When she replied, I was immediately tasked to turn the webcam on, as they did theirs. Soon enough, we were seeing one another, waving and greeting one another through the window.

With the little time I spent in front of my laptop – before other people started typing their own messages to our relatives abroad – I noticed that Syusuke was back online. I groaned and reluctantly closed the familiar chat window. _'Gomen, Syusuke… This doesn't happen often with us…' _I explained to myself with a sigh, deciding to text the tensai of this apology much later. We checked out of the resort at around 12 noon.

We ended up visiting a farm – at least, a lot that one of my aunts apparently owned, where the adults were fussing over the plants, and my cousins with D-SLRs were taking numerous pictures. I sighed. _'The simple fact that I'm in a farm right now will give people too many ideas…'_ I shook my head in discontent. It was after this that we headed off to have a late lunch somewhere nearby.

Another round of Clue was played while waiting for the food before we broke for lunch. It was just a little past 3 in the afternoon when we left the venue to finally head back home. I managed to get myself a decent amount of rest in the car while listening to songs off my iPod – to save myself from the tunes off my mother's own device. We dropped off my aunt and cousin who had been riding with us back at their place before me, my mother and my two cousins headed back for the house.

Until now, I find it rather strange how addicting detective games can be. _'It helps me develop my logical thinking, it seems…'_ I reasoned with myself as I pulled out my laptop from my bag, powered it up and proceeded to upload the second batch of the pictures I took. I had received two messages from the tensai upon my arrival – I _had _intended to text him that I was already back, but I have no idea why it slipped my mind. I didn't even bother replying to both of his messages. _'Excellent work, Kunimitsu… You've let a day pass without having a decent conversation with him…'_ I scolded myself with a shake of my head.

When I had accessed his online journal at around 10 in the evening – this was after I had finished installing a new game on my laptop (a digital version of Clue) and played a few rounds - , I realized that he was waiting for me. I did not realize that I had not signed onto the chat messenger to acknowledge that I was online, so Syusuke had assumed that I was already asleep.

'_And here I believed that you knew me, Syusuke…'_ he teased, smirking to himself as he glanced over to Kurt, Diego and Sasha. "Seems your mother still has much more to learn about my sleeping tendencies," he told them as he returned his attention to the screen of his laptop. "Resting from a long trip only applies to me as a result of jet lag and nothing else," he explained. "If I didn't have that nap in the car, yes, I would've gone to bed early," he finished before picking up his phone to type his second message of apology for the tensai.

**TBC**


	35. Bingo

Bingo

Summary: Tezuka's relatives come over to the house for a round of Bingo. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

At around 9 in the morning, Tezuka had woken up to the alarm of his phone calendar. He groaned and acknowledged it before shifting in bed to get himself some more sleep. He was woken up once more by his phone, which signaled that he had a new message. _'Why do people insist on sending me a text at this time?' _he cursed to himself as he fished out for his phone once more and rubbed his eyes sleepily as he opened the message. It was from Fuji.

Tezuka blinked as he read the message – having to squint to focus his vision. _'…hate waking up early… on our way to one of my aunt's place… babysitting this morning… according to the map, we'll be passing your subdivision…' _were the strings of words that the stoic youth allowed his brain to register. He groaned as he proceeded to give a response to this (which technically accommodated the first of the four and nothing else). His thumbs fled through the keypad – for which he was thankful for having memorized the keypad so he could do without the glasses - before he sent it.

After a few moments of laying there in bed, Tezuka finally decided to get up. He powered up his laptop to attend to some things until about 11 o' clock when he took it upon himself to get a shower before lunch.

That afternoon, he was going to meet with his relatives once more, as they were going to hold their annual Bingo tournament – if it would be considered as one. _'I wonder what would've happened if I had invited Syusuke to join such a festivity…'_ he wondered as he headed down to lunch. His father had returned from his flight abroad that early morning, and so his mother decided that he sleep in and have lunch at a later hour. At the dinner table was Tezuka, his mother and one of his cousins – for the other one had gone out to play basketball with his classmates at a Sports Plaza nearby.

Clue was played once more when some of the stoic youth's other cousins had arrived, where he emerged as the winner who guessed correctly. Not long after that, the games began. Tezuka had gotten himself 6 cards to start off with – while others got quite a ludicrous number of cards – for the first 3 or so games before getting two more. Tezuka enjoyed the idea that 'buying' a card resulted in increasing the pot size for the winner of the Blackout game (where you have to completely fill up your card with the numbers called out).

Out of the numerous games – that involved prizes for every winning card for completing the indicated pattern, Tezuka had managed to win only twice. The stoic youth shook his head in discontent. The Blackout was won by his younger cousin – who had been winning 4 years in a row now – and one of his aunts (though the card belonged to her son). The two split the pot. _'There's always next year, I suppose…'_ he thought to himself.

--

In the midst of the games, Tezuka had received a text from Fuji, saying that he wouldn't be able to come online since Yuuta needed to use his laptop the entire evening. _'There goes my chance of being able to chat with Syusuke… Again…'_ he said, shaking his head. He looked at his phone. _'Honestly, Syusuke… There are times I wish that you and I can talk to each other through landline… We haven't done that in the longest time… Not once since our relationship began, unfortunately… If only…'_ he trailed off, the rest of Tezuka's thoughts drifting off deep into his mind.

**TBC**


	36. Baking

Baking

Summary: On New Year's Eve, Tezuka tries his hand at baking the night's brownies. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Around the house, it was either Tezuka's female cousin or his mother who had a knack for bustling around the kitchen baking brownies for a get-together or just for the heck of it (the latter of which was done by his cousin). The stoic youth had watched the two prepare the chocolate dessert so many times in the past, he wondered how it would turn out if he had made them.

'_Not as well as theirs, no doubt…'_ he immediately concluded to himself. Not that he had any intention of actually making brownies.

That is, until tonight.

It was dinner time, and he was sitting down with his parents and his female cousin – his other cousin refused to eat to save his appetite for the food that was going to be served at midnight. Towards the end of it, his mother had asked his cousin to bake the brownies.

"You're better at it than I am," his mother teased.

"You're just saying that because you're lazy, aren't you?" came the reply.

"I could do it…" Tezuka interjected, not realizing what he had offered until it had already left his mouth.

His mother beamed. "Alright, then, Kunimitsu," she said enthusiastically.

Tezuka's father chuckled. "Let's see how well you can bake, son," he teased.

Tezuka frowned. "Just tell me what to do…" he said quietly.

"All you have to do is just follow the instructions on the box," his cousin commented.

Tezuka brought his gaze of to his cousin but offered no reply.

--

After dinner, Tezuka followed his mother to the kitchen. The things that were needed were quickly prepared. Later on, Tezuka was measuring water and poured it into the mix. He then proceeded to crack the eggs.

"Just tap it gently," his mother instructed him.

He did so with the wooden spoon. He was successful with the first egg, but wasn't quite so with the second.

His father made a face expressing mock disgust. "Doesn't that feel gross, Kunimitsu?" he asked.

Tezuka fought the urge to roll his eyes at his father's comment as he proceeded to measure the cooking oil and poured into the mix before mixing it all together. After a few good minutes of mixing, he was tasked to grease the baking pan with oil before pouring the mix into it, leveling it some walnuts were added before it was set in the oven.

Tezuka heaved a sigh of relief. _'That wasn't as bad as I expected…'_ he admitted to himself as he proceeded upstairs for a while. He wasn't able to chat with Fuji online due to the tensai's connection problems. The stoic youth took Sasha from the bed and sat himself down in front of his open laptop. "If the brownies I just made turn out alright… Perhaps I should make him some…" he told the stuffed dog. "Don't you think so?" The dog stared back at him before he nodded to himself. "Right, we'll have to wait until I've tasted the brownies before I even consider doing this again…"

**EDIT: **

Tezuka's aunt and one of his cousins arrived to celebrate the New Year celebration with them. Over the midnight feast, his aunt – who was seated beside him at the dinner table - nudged him in the ribs and said, "Congratulations, Kunimitsu."

Tezuka blinked. "What for?"

She indicated the brownies. "They're delicious," she complimented with a warm smile.

Tezuka gave a solemn nod of gratitude. _'Well, it looks like I'll be bustling around the kitchen making these again in the near future, Syusuke…'_

**TBC**


	37. Kunimitsu's New Year

Kunimitsu's New Year

Summary: How Tezuka spent the first day of the new year. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

It was around 2 in the afternoon when Tezuka found himself actually starting to somewhat clean up his room. He was rather annoyed at how cluttered everything was in his shelves, therefore concluding that he needed to fix things up a bit to find out what he needed to get rid of and what he could store someplace else.

He took the box of his iPod's dock (A/N: Docking Digital Music System for iPod, to be more precise) and emptied it of its extra contents before filling it with the small pile of notebooks and fillers taking p space on one of the shelves. Tezuka took quick glances at the content of each notebook – recalling what was inside – before filing them into the box. Soon enough, he had stored them all before rearranging everything else in that particular shelf.

When that was done, he proceeded to the second desk that housed his small manga collection, plus a few other things. Again, he took away the needless books/magazines that were there before rearranging everything. Tezuka nodded to himself in satisfaction. _'To think I had all those Fill-in Puzzles from my grandmother just waiting to be solved…'_ he said, shaking his head. He lost that habit of solving those kinds of things a _long _time ago.

He then moved to the third of the shelves he figured he'd be rearranging that day that contained most of his favorite books (A/N: Which included the three latter works of Colfer's Artemis Fowl series, 4 out of the 7 Harry Potter books, two other Colfer works, some of Paulo Coelho's works and a few others). _'I'm having my mother relocate these children's books…'_ he told himself as he pulled them off the shelf and placed them elsewhere for the time being.

He looked at the four remaining shelves he needed to re-sort. _'Well, 2 ½ more shelves to fix…' _he figured before he heard his mother calling "Let's go!" to the rest of the residents.

They were going to a relative's place for a Mahjong and Poker tournament. Not that Tezuka decided to participate in either of them, of course.

--

When they arrived there, he didn't do much besides having short conversations with some of his relatives there or playing a round of Clue – to which he accused correctly – and helping out with the Poker Tournament by acting as the second dealer – who basically handled the chip flow.

Throughout the night, the stoic youth found it necessary to send the tensai a text lest they not be able to chat once more with each other. It was at around that moment in time did Tezuka recall that he had long wanted to discuss with Fuji about their plans for their second monthsary celebration.

'_I can't believe I completely forgot about that Saturday plan for the musical…'_ he scolded himself as he relayed this information to the tensai, hoping to celebrate on the actual day for a change. Tezuka frowned – more than he already was – when Fuji had replied stating that he had class until six. The buchou innately sighed before he replied, stating that they would have to postpone their celebration until the following Monday, and change the venue as well.

'_That restaurant can wait until the opportune moment…'_ he thought with a nod of agreement to himself.

When both tournaments finally came to a close, Tezuka, along with his parents and two cousins, headed back home. Tezuka had received a text from Fuji, stating that he had managed to fix the connection and inquired if he was still coming online. Replying with an affirmative response, the reply was that the tensai would wait for him. Tezuka smirked. _'Finally… I've missed chatting with you so much, Syusuke…'_

---

As soon as they reached home – the time had just reached midnight -, Tezuka trudged upstairs – after managing to save the table they had brought along from falling from the trunk of the car with his leg – to his bedroom and powered up his laptop. He moved to his bed and pulled Sasha from underneath the blankets before settling himself down on his swivel chair. _'I'm surprised it didn't hurt catching it with my leg like that…'_ he thought in slight disbelief as he rubbed his right shin. The bespectacled boy's gaze moved to his knees, where remnants of his accident on the cobblestone path back at the resort they stayed at where exposed (A/N: Refer to Chapter 33 of this fic).

'_It should heal faster if I stop putting band-aids over it…'_ he thought to himself as he moved to type in his password. As soon as he signed in, Kikumaru had sent him some messages. Tezuka blinked. _'It's not often I see him online at this late hour…'_ he noted.

The acrobatic player had told him that Fuji was waiting for him, and that he was keeping the tensai company, but was now off to bed. Tezuka frowned. _'A sporting gesture, but I doubt that Syusuke would be asleep if he said that he'd wait for me…'_ he reasoned before he clicked on Fuji's name from his messenger and buzzed him. The response was immediate. _'So Syusuke prefers to have Kikumaru believe that he's already asleep… Interesting…'_

Tezuka took a moment to appreciate the Fishtank background that distinguished Fuji's chat window from the rest and smirked. "You don't know how much I've missed seeing this particular chat window, Syusuke…" he said to himself before starting his chat with Fuji after the longest time.

'_Just a few more days, love… Just a few more days…'_

**TBC**


	38. Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning

Summary: Tezuka continues cleaning out his shelves. He stumbles upon some old memorabilia and contemplates on them for a moment before carrying out his task. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka stared at the remaining shelves that needed to be attended to in his room. He took a moment's glance to the screen of his laptop, where Fuji's chat window was open. "The sooner I get this over with, the sooner we can chat, Syusuke…" he said to himself as he got started.

He rearranged the CDs, pocket books and hardbound books alike, as well as the various notebooks and folders scattered there into neat piles or rows. Tezuka looked around his desk for a moment, spotting a familiar box that previously housed his new planner. He took a moment to consider what to do with the empty container before a thought struck him.

He pulled out a metal case in the shape of a book from one of the shelves he had previously rearranged and opened its lid, revealing quite a number of memorable pamphlets, tickets and the like. Tezuka smirked as he took a moment from transferring everything recklessly to sorting through it.

'_As if I would recall everything in this to just dump it into this new box,'_ he reasoned with himself.

He started with pulling out a few familiar tickets and brochures. He furrowed his eyebrows for a moment before he opened the brochures. They turned out to be maps of Disneyland, California. He recalled travelling there two Halloweens ago to celebrate his cousin's birthday. The park and some FastPass tickets were there as well. Tezuka recalled the trip well.

He shook his head as he continued his sorting. He paused once more when he picked up two familiar tickets to a Broadway show nearly 5 years ago. The stoic youth had sat down to watch **Phantom of the Opera **along with his uncle and his cousin when he went to visit New York for the summer that year.

Tezuka found a number of things there: his Acknowledgement Slip when he was applying for his current college, boarding passes, a record of a game of mini-golf and reserve slips to a concert he had watched among others. When he was finished sorting everything, he closed both lids and stowed them away accordingly.

The stoic youth continued on cleaning his shelves. When he was done, took a step back to examine it. He frowned at the sight of the shelf he had left untouched that housed three boxes full of notebooks, pictures and letters. _'That's the last thing I'm sorting through…' _he told himself firmly. There might have been a couple of things that he wasn't ready to see just yet. Not at that particular point in time.

'_Not yet…'_

Tezuka sat himself down in his swivel chair and sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and pulled off his glasses, massaging the bridge of his nose for a moment before slipping them back on. He turned his attention to his laptop, where Fuji's chat window still was. He smirked. _'Waiting's become second nature for you now, I suppose?'_ He pulled himself closer to his desk before he started conversing with the tensai once more.

**TBC**


	39. Battling Gremlins

Battling Gremlins

Summary: Tezuka receives a disturbing message on his cell phone. The sender that registered was Fuji Syusuke. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

Note: The text messages that were received are not as accurate as the original, but contain the same message nevertheless.

------

Tezuka was sitting in front of his laptop. He had bid Fuji a good-bye as the tensai got ready to leave for a school requirement. He questionably wished Fuji luck, but the reply he received caused him to smirk.

**SYUSUKE: A more demanding request would be nice.  
SYUSUKE: Like… 'Don't let your guard down'?**

Tezuka shook his head. _'And here I was, thinking you wouldn't want to hear it.'_ He moved his hands over the keyboard and typed two things:

**KUNIMITSU: Fine then.  
KUNIMITSU: Don't let your guard down for a second.**

The response took him by surprise.

**SYUSUKE: Hai hai, Ku-ni-mi-tsu~  
SYUSUKE: ^______^**

When Fuji signed out, Tezuka sighed, clutching onto the armchair of his swivel chair. _'Nothing bad better happen to him or I swear I'll…' _the thought trailed off into nothing as the stoic youth tried to calm himself down.

--

It was about half-past 10 in the evening when his message alert tone sounded. He picked up his phone and opened the message. It was from Fuji. His eyes widened at the words.

_**Kunimitsu, we need to break up.**_

Tezuka blinked his slight disbelief. He leaned back on his chair for a while before pulling off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. _'Either… he's drunk and sending me all this nonsense… or someone took his phone and sent this,' _he reasoned with himself before he looked at the screen of his phone again.

Trying to figure that out, he punched in a reply.

_**And where is this coming from?**_

As Tezuka waited for a reply, another message arrived. Opening it, it came from an unknown number, but the message caused him to smirk.

_**Mitsu, this is Syusuke. THEY HAVE MY PHONE. This is Kaidoh's number, by the way.**_

Tezuka nodded to himself and keyed in a reply. _'Hmm, a number to save…'_

_**I figured as much. And by them, you mean THEM, I suppose?**_

The reply confirmed his suspicions. It was definitely Takahiro and his 'sidekick'. Tezuka shook his head. _'I should have known something like this would happen…'_

It didn't take long for Tezuka to receive another message from Fuji's phone. _'It seems these two don't want to quit bothering us.' _The Fuji imposter stated that things just weren't working out between them. Tezuka rolled his eyes as he replied his disbelief of such a message coming from the tensai.

As if that wasn't enough, the stoic youth found himself exchanging messages with this imposter, who was imposing that he was Fuji and that his replies were making it hard for him to declare that things would be better off if Tezuka and Fuji broke up. _'As if I would believe a word of this…' _Tezuka chuckled at one of his responses.

_**If you expect me to believe Syusuke would say these things – by text, no less – then you're barking mad. You two should quit this right now.**_

When Tezuka thought about it, the replies he was getting from the Fuji imposter were going around in circles – _'Just like the chat conversations I had with Takahiro when Syusuke and I started out. They've made themselves so obvious.' _

Tezuka took it upon himself to text Kaidoh to inform Syusuke to send him a coded message to know that the tensai had gotten his phone back. The stoic youth messaged his temples in slight annoyance. _'I don't know what I should be irritated about… The fact I've wasted my load on arguing needlessly with Takahiro or the fact that I've allowed this to happen…'_

He groaned before he received another message from Fuji. He blinked when he spotted the coded message and smiled slightly. _'As long as nothing bad resulted from getting it back, Syusuke…'_

It was past midnight when Fuji came back online. Tezuka had waited for the tensai to return, and thought it best not to inquire what went on.

----

The following day, Fuji had posted a new entry on his online journal that contained a recap of last night's event. Tezuka frowned – and found his eye twitching as he read through it. At the end of everything, he found himself growling.

'_That good for nothing… Thinks he could… When I see him…' _Fragments of his train of thoughts bounced off him, but the stoic youth decided not to voice these out. Tezuka was uniquely pissed off. _'And not a lot of people could do that…' _he added. He pursed his lips.

'_Looks like this battle with those gremlins isn't over yet.'_

**TBC**


	40. On Writing

On Writing

Summary: Before heading to bed, Tezuka makes final changes to his school bag before a letter slips out from among his papers. Picking it up, the stoic youth discovers it to be addressed to him; from Fuji. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka stretched his arms over his head. He had just ended the night's conversation with Fuji while busying himself with a little side-project on his laptop.

"_**Don't stay up too late," **_the tensai urged before signing off. Tezuka shrugged. After a few more minutes of making sure that the files Fuji had asked from him were stowed away in the tensai's USB, he eventually shut down his laptop and proceeded to head to bed.

He paused for a moment as he moved to add a few things to his bag that he figured he'd bring along for the following day. The stoic youth pulled out some folded pieces of paper before something green caught his eye as it slid innocently to the floor. Tezuka blinked. He brought it up before spotting his name in a familiar handwriting before looking the envelope over. _'Syusuke…'_

A small smirk escaped him as he set the letter on his desk and moved to fix his bag. When that was done, he transferred to his bed, where he turned on his bedside lamp and proceeded to read the tensai's letter. As he read, Tezuka found his mind processing things in rapid motion. _'So that's why you brought up that treasure hunt topic earlier on…' _he thought in realization.

Once he was through reading the letter Tezuka had decided. His gaze shifted to the wall clock above his bedroom door; just a little past 11 in the evening. He moved up to retrieve a notebook from one of the high shelves and took it down, grabbed a stray pen from his desk before returning to the bed. He flipped the notebook open to a clean sheet and started writing.

As he wrote, he innately chuckled. _'A force of habit, indeed…'_ he thought to himself, agreeing with what he had just written down. Between thinking up of what to write and glancing at the clock, Tezuka had finished his letter to Fuji with minutes to spare. He moved to the next room to retrieve an envelope and slipped the letter inside.

Deciding that the envelope was too plain – although it would have been better off that way so that he would get some sleep already -, Tezuka moved to retrieve another of his notebooks where he kept a record of a few quotes and skimmed through some to write on the envelope. _'I can't seem to recall when I last took the time to write a letter like this…' _he admitted to himself with a frown as he furrowed his brows.

It was nearly 1 in the morning when Tezuka deemed it good enough before he set everything aside and settled into bed.

----

Tezuka sighed as he was walking back to where his blockmates usually spend lunch time while waiting for their next class. He had just came back from meeting Fuji – as he had urged the tensai that it was no trouble for him to meet up for a little bit. He was due to return the tensai's USB to him (as well as hand Fuji the letter). When they had parted ways, a thought struck Tezuka before he just as quickly shook it off.

'_That wouldn't be the same thing, now would it? Perhaps… Next time…' _he thought with finality.

**TBC**


	41. Lost Stamina

Lost Stamina

Summary: Upon hearing news of the tennis clinic restarting in two days, Tezuka realizes a huge factor he's misplaced over the Christmas break. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka was panting early into their 3-minute 5-on-5 game during PE that morning. _'I don't remember getting tired this quickly before…' _he thought to himself as he stopped to catch his breath as the rest of his classmates ran down the court to continue play. He now found himself immensely tired, and making his way to the school cafeteria was not a small feat.

How he managed to survive the hour-long class of Basketball and still have strength to walk the length from the covered court to the cafeteria without panting was due to his build-up of stamina coming into the second semester. Tennis surely stretched out how much he could take before losing his breath. And Tezuka was quite happy with having developed such an asset.

The Christmas Break, however, robbed him of that asset. _'My legs never felt so weak before…'_ he cursed in annoyance at this development as he was walking towards the cafeteria, each step dragging. _'I knew I should have found a way to play some type of sport over the break…'_ he added, shaking his head. Tezuka was not used to this vulnerability.

The stoic youth groaned when their Coach had announced that the tennis clinic would resume on Thursday. Not that Tezuka would've complained, but his lack of stamina would surely take its toll on him for that night. And he knew he would need a lot of it (both physically and mentally) if he wanted to accomplish all the tasks he had promised himself to do in that single night.

---

When Tezuka saw the boy's name come online and greet him with that ever-familiar fishtank background, he eventually told the tensai of the clinic restarting on Thursday.

**KUNIMITSU: I'm back to tennis on Thursday.  
SYUSUKE: Good for you.  
SYUSUKE: You miss playing, don't you?  
KUNIMITSU: I think I should talk about this on my journal tonight.  
SYUSUKE: On tennis being back and you symbolically jumping for joy?  
SYUSUKE: ^___________^  
KUNIMITSU: No….  
KUNIMITS: On tennis and how Christmas break robbed me of my accumulated stamina for both basketball and tennis.  
SYUSUKE: Aww… Poor Kuni-chan~**

Tezuka's cheeks heated up at this pet name. _'Ku…Kuni-chan?!' _

As he chatted with Fuji until about 11 in the evening, the tensai had decided to head to bed early, and Tezuka was more than happy to let Fuji go. _'I don't want to keep you up if only to wait for the inevitable…'_ he thought sadly as he exchanged the usual farewells with his boyfriend before Fuji Syusuke went offline.

**TBC**


	42. New Allies

New Allies

Summary: A new chat window pops up on Tezuka's screen. The unknown person issues a challenge to the stoic youth. When Tezuka refuses, things take a strange turn. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

Note: The conversations that were mentioned here are true. :3

------

Tezuka checked his watch that morning when he was near his destination. Once again, the place was practically deserted. At 6:30 in the morning.

'_I should serious keep up-to-date with them…' _he thought to himself, referring to his blockmates. The stoic youth groaned as he found an empty bench – though that would be an understatement, considering the lack of people – and settled himself there.

15 minutes later, there was still no sign of any of his blockmates. Tezuka decided to head off early to the classroom.

--

When he had settled himself in his usual seat, Tezuka's thoughts lingered over to the previous night's turn of events. Late into the night, he had been finishing up on a group assignment for Japanese Literature class. He had been in a conference with his groupmates since 7 in the evening while he was also chatting with Fuji. _'I can't really decline a day's conversation with him unless my laptop's been hijacked by relatives who want to utilize the built-in webcam.'_

It had been around 10-11 in the evening when a new chat window popped up. An unknown username. Tezuka raised an eyebrow. _'And who would this be?'_

Their chat was quite interesting, should Tezuka be given the opportunity to describe it. The manner in which this unknown person conversed reminded him of Saeki Koujiro. Fuji had told him the same thing.

The stoic youth's chat with this 'Saeki', which started with a proposal of a challenge, drifted off to Tezuka eventually refusing and commenting about the other being a fine ally, were his intentions different. The reply Tezuka received surprised him.

**SAEKI: An ally I might become  
SAEKI: Only if you would answer** **two questions to my satisfaction  
SAEKI: They are nothing that Takahiro and his little minions would say, I assure you.**

Deciding to chance on it, Tezuka agreed. The questions, as he had figured, were about him and Fuji. _'Though doesn't everybody who bothers to chat with us ask such things?' _he thought as he typed up replies as honestly as he could.

**SAEKI: The first question would be: Why should we leave Fuji in your hands?  
KUNIMITSU: Perhaps that would be because we have known each other long enough to confide our trust in each other.  
KUNIMITSU: And... Because there are things only I can seem to talk him through when he's deeply troubled about something...  
SAEKI: I am glad that you are aware of that.  
SAEKI: Second Question, Tezuka.  
KUNIMITSU: Go ahead.  
SAEKI: A tale of Trust and Love, that is what he have seen so far...but how can you assure us that you will not hurt Fuji? How far can that love of yours go?  
KUNIMITSU: Because I have already hurt him in the past. My heart does not permit me to commit the same heartbreak to Syusuke again.  
KUNIMITSU: My love will go as far as it needs to for his heart to heal of the sin I have once made to it.  
SAEKI: And once it heals what will you do? Will you leave it at that?  
KUNIMITSU: No.  
KUNIMITSU: I will continue loving him.  
KUNIMITSU: Because that is what I've decided to do.  
SAEKI: :) You really love Syusuke, don't you?  
KUNIMITSU: I do.  
SAEKI: Then I am pleased to inform you that you have enlisted the aid of five seniors of the CA department.  
**(A/N: CA stands for Communication Arts, the course Fuji and these seniors are taking)

In the end, Tezuka had slightly dropped his mouth in astonishment. 'Saeki' had revealed himself to be 5 seniors who were taking up the same course as the tensai in Seigaku. The buchou was at a loss for words. He thanked them for their help before relaying the news to Fuji.

A small smile crept up the stoic youth's lips. _'At least this way… I can be a little bit more at ease with your well-being while you're dealing with Takahiro, Syusuke… At least this way, things will be a little bit easier to manage…'_

**TBC**


	43. Unspoken

Unspoken

Summary: Due to time constraints, Tezuka and Fuji finally find time to spend together to somehow celebrate their second monthsary. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

Note: This fanfic was set to be finished and released on the actual date of this event, but due to some unforeseen dilemmas that popped up, I was forced to put this on hold before now. Gomen. I shall remind you all that these chapters reflect real life experiences.

------

It seemed as if time was something that he and Fuji were battling against that day, Tezuka supposed. The results of the casting were announced during Literature class that day – the auditions were held last Saturday -, and much to Tezuka's relief, he had not made the part. _'Though I'm not sure if I should be happy or sad about this…' _he thought to himself.

Tezuka had glanced at his watch a few times throughout his last two classes before finally being able to leave. He pulled out his phone and texted Fuji that his classes were done. He made a short commute from the campus to a convenience store, just a walking distance from the train station.

When the stoic youth arrived, he entered the establishment when he spotted Fuji somewhat dressed up. Somewhat feminine, but that was Fuji's style sometimes. A blush came across Tezuka's cheeks as he tapped the tensai on the shoulder. It was long after that did they head off to take a train to the nearby mall to watch a movie (A/N: Bedtime Stories is an awesome movie!).

There were a number of moments when Tezuka would take second glances over to the tensai when they were waiting for the train to arrive. _'Why am I finding it overly difficult to come out say what I want?' _he demanded of himself as the sound of an oncoming train distracted him.

When they had arrived, the couple headed up to the theatre floor to purchase tickets – not after they took a quick stop at the bookstore. Tezuka was quite surprised that there weren't much people watching the movie with them – though he had figured it was because the movie had been out for nearly a week and that everybody who wanted to watch it had already done so. They entered the appropriate movie house and found their seats and settled in. Tezuka took his opportunity to pull out a stowaway from his backpack – Sasha – to watch the movie with them.

'_It's interesting to note how easily distracted Syusuke becomes when he sees her…' _Tezuka admitted to himself.

When the hour and forty minute movie had finished, they went to have some photo stickers taken. The two had found it quite amusing how candid the first two shots had been taken (since there was a malfunction with one of the two angle cameras), and chose one of those two. The other had somewhat resembled a picture they had described in one of their roleplays (A/N: Refer to my LJ and search for 'Anything for You' Chapter 1). _'That crosses something off my list…'_ Tezuka thought to himself.

The only thing that Tezuka had bothered to play at the arcade this time around was his usual Virtua Tennis – though he had wondered why Fuji had not requested to want to play a particular fighting game.

When this was over, they both settled down for some ice cream (A/N: Dairy Queen Blizzards) before deciding to head back. And as they had parted ways to head home, Tezuka's mind had been focusing on one thing: Fuji.

'_Surely there are times when I don't speak my mind… I rarely do that… But with you, I just might be able to break away from my comfort zone and come out and tell you exactly what I'm thinking…'_

As Tezuka boarded his first of two buses home, he recalled the lyrics to a song he had suggested that Fuji listen to. And the lyrics had spoken quite clearly of how the stoic youth felt for the tensai.

_Love leads to laughter__  
__Love leads to pain__  
__With you by my side__  
__I feel good times again___

_Never have I felt these feelings before__  
__You showed me the world__  
__How could I ask for more___

_And although there's confusion__  
__We'll find a solution to keep my heart close to you___

_And I know, yes I know__  
__If you hold me, believe me__  
__I'll never, never ever leave___

_And I know__  
__There is nothing that I would not do for you__  
__Forever be true__  
__And I know__  
__Although times can be hard__  
__We will see it through__  
__I'm forever in love with you___

_Show me affection__  
__In all different ways__  
__Give you my heart__  
__For the rest of my days___

_With you all my troubles are left far behind__  
__Like heaven on earth__  
__When I look in your eyes___

_And although there's confusion__  
__We'll find a solution__  
__To keep my heart close to you___

_And I know, yes I know__  
__If you hold me, believe me__  
__I'll never, never ever leave___

_And I know__  
__There is nothing that I would not do for you__  
__Forever be true__  
__And I know__  
__Although times can be hard__  
__We will see it through__  
__I'm forever in love with you___

_No need to cry__  
__I'll be right by your side__  
__(Right by your side)___

_Let's take our time__  
__Love won't run dry__  
__If you hold me, believe me__  
__I'll never, never ever leave___

_And I know__  
__There is nothing that I would not do for you__  
__Forever be true__  
__And I know__  
__Although times can be hard__  
__We will see it through__  
__I'm forever in love__  
__And I know__  
__There is nothing that I would not do for you___

_Forever be true__  
__And I know___

_Oh I know__  
__Although times can be hard__  
__We will see it through__  
__I'm forever in love with you_

Tezuka smiled to himself. _'And because I'm forever in love with you… I won't give you up to anybody.'_

**TBC**

----

Note: The song is 'Forever In Love' by A1, so it's not mine.


	44. If

If

Summary: Tezuka composes this when he becomes overly worried for the tensai's well-being. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

If I put faith in our tomorrow... will it happen?  
If I put my faith in others, will they come through for us?  
If I put my faith in YOU, will YOU follow through?

If I believed there was tomorrow... will it exist?  
If I believed in your strength, will you be stronger?  
If I believed in your will to live, will it grow?  
If I believed in YOU, will anything change?

I trust you. I cherish you. I believe in you. I LOVE YOU.

Never let go of tomorrow.  
Don't leave this path half-journeyed.  
Affirm my belief in what we have.  
Affirm your choice with me.  
Make no second thought; this love is true.

**TBC**


	45. Takahiro Saga: Close Call

Takahiro Saga: Close Call

Summary: The Takahiro saga; when it returned with a vengeance, how alliances were formed, how it came into a closure, and how Tezuka and Fuji coped through it all; from Tezuka's point of view. I present to you part 1 of 3. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

A/N: All events mentioned here are based on real life experiences. We are not to be kidding you.

------

The fact that Tezuka and Fuji were always conversing online through the messenger had its advantages, disadvantages and privileges. Chatting online, much did it become a routine for them to log on and chat every night for a few hours, meant that they were prone to be interrupted by other people; people like Takahiro Akira.

Saeki – a spokesperson for the group of seniors whose help he had enlisted before (A/N: Chapter 42 on New Allies if you will), and Takahiro's sidekick – now turned good - were simultaneously chatting with the stoic youth that evening after he and Fuji had went out. It was around this time did Takahiro message him.

The freshman had stumbled across Takahiro's devious plans for that following day during the tensai's 3-hour break. Tezuka groaned. _'When will this idiot learn to back off?' _he said, grinding his teeth as Takahiro happily described what he was planning to do with Fuji – a repeat of a previous bad encounter some few months back before Tezuka and Fuji had officially ended up together.

Masato-sensei, one of Fuji's teachers at Seigaku, had come online and messaged Tezuka, asking what the situation was. The stoic youth sighed as he made a report to the authoritative figure. They needed to make plans to prevent Takahiro from having his way.

Saeki had promised to relay the message to the seniors to keep a watch on things. It appeared as though Fuji had needed to attend to a meeting with the Dean, and Takahiro was set to be present as well. The original plan was that, according to the freshman, Takahiro would strike right after. Security was set to be tightened around the certain area for the following day.

---

On the day of the first incident, Fuji had suggested that they meet, as the Computer Science student needed to hand the tensai his set of copies of the photo stickers they had taken the previous day. If Tezuka was without nerves about the foreboding events that were to take place, it would be a big understatement. They had met up at the foot of the blue bridge that separated their two schools. Tezuka handed over the copies – which were enclosed in a miniature envelope that he had made using origami – to Fuji.

It wasn't after a while before Fuji suggested that they head to a coffee shop for a while. The stoic youth was reluctant at first, considering that he had a 1pm class to attend to. Masato-sensei had sent a message to Fuji, urging him to stay away from Seigaku until a certain time. Sighing, Tezuka pulled out his cell phone and sent a message to one of his blockmates requesting them to bring up his things to the lab. They then crossed the bridge and headed off there.

The tensai ordered himself something to drink before they went up to sit themselves down at their regular table before Tezuka asked Fuji how things were. Fuji – being the tensai that he was – later on suspected that something was going to happen soon with concerns to Takahiro. Expressing his views to Tezuka, the stoic youth frowned. _'I should be appreciative that Syusuke can analyze a situation like this, but… These are the kinds of situations he shouldn't have to know about to begin with…'_ Tezuka reasoned.

Tezuka caved in and told Fuji of the plan for later; how security was assembled and who he should be with to avoid Takahiro. But when Fuji had mentioned getting dizzy, Tezuka's mind was sounding an alarm. Quickly asking what could've been the cause of it, the tensai mentioned something about eating a few brownies a little before his 10:30am Science class begun.

'_Drugging food to catch him unawares… It's a ridiculous hypothesis, but considering who we're dealing with…'_ Tezuka's train of thought trailed off as he extended his hand to the tensai. "Your phone if you would, Syusuke."

Fuji placed a hand over his breast pocket where his phone was stashed. "Why?"

"I need to send a text to Masato-sensei concerning this," Tezuka calmly explained.

Fuji was a bit reluctant before he pulled out the device and handed it to Tezuka.

Tezuka typed up a message briefly explaining his theory and stated where they were at the moment before he added, "And can you send this to Shiro-sensei as well? Just in case…" Shiro-sensei was Fuji's next teacher for his 3pm class, and had expressed his shared concern with regards to Fuji's well-being while in Seigaku. Fuji nodded grimly before Tezuka finished his message and handed the tensai his phone back, as Fuji appropriately sent the message to his two senseis.

Tezuka eased back in his chair, taking a sip from his plastic cup of water that he poured himself earlier on. _'If all goes according to plan, hopefully Syusuke can avoid experiencing what he did before with Takahiro…'_ Tezuka thought in worry.

It was 5 to 1pm, and Tezuka, after convincing Fuji that it was alright for him to be a little late, stood to signal the tensai that they should be heading back. They crossed the blue bridge once more as the bespectacled youth accompanied Fuji down the steps to the foot of the bridge.

"I'll tell you one thing, Syusuke."

"What?"

"Whatever happens... under any circumstance, promise me you'll not…"

"Not what?"

There was a _long _pause before Tezuka spoke again. "Promise me you'll not scream out for him. Promise me you will not scream his name."

Fuji was clearly taken aback but slowly nodded. "I promise."

A small smile came across Tezuka's lips before he kissed the tensai on the forehead. "And remember. You're worth something. Especially to me," he added, bringing a finger up and teasingly pressed it against the tensai's nose before they parted with a chaste kiss as Tezuka headed back towards his school for his 1pm class.

And that was where everything started to go wrong.

----

An hour into his class – where they were testing out the different team's programmed spaceships against one another – Tezuka pulled out his phone and blinked when his screen read: '2 missed calls'. Hesitantly opening the call log, the number registered was Fuji's. Thankfully the rest of his classmates were too busy attending to their own leisure or had their eyes glued on the main screen watching the spaceship battles. Tezuka punched in a quick message and sent it to his boyfriend.

'_It's unlikely that something happened…' _he reasoned repeatedly to himself when the reply came in quickly. His eyes widened.

"**You lost."**

Tezuka only had to blink once before he felt his insides shaking. Takahiro had gotten to Fuji.

He cursed that he didn't have Masato-sensei or Shiro-sensei's number to inform them immediately of the situation. Groaning, he settled for trying to inform Kaidoh – the only one whose number he had that was at Seigaku at the moment. Not long after, he received a message from an anonymous number. Immediately recounting the previous evening's conversation with Masato-sensei, Tezuka replied to 'Sir Anonymous' and relayed his suspicion of what had happened.

Sir Anonymous – Masato-sensei – had asked Tezuka to get Fuji to head back to Seigaku, as Shiro-sensei was already waiting in the faculty room for the tensai. Tezuka checked the time again. _'2 o' clock… This is just too surreal…' _He received another message from Masato-sensei, informing him that Fuji had texted Saeki that he was with Tezuka.

'_Drugging the brownies and now sending false information using Syusuke's phone…' _Amidst the excitement of the computer lab, Tezuka grinded his teeth as he sent a reply to Masato-sensei. It didn't take long for the exchange of messages to end with Masato-sensei saying that Fuji had never managed to attend to the meeting with the dean, and that they were going to Takahiro's place now to retrieve Fuji before it was too late. Tezuka was relieved at the idea that Masato-sensei himself would be updating the stoic youth of the situation.

"_**I'll keep in touch. I promise you if something happens to him Takahiro will be held accountable for everything." **_

The stoic youth read Masato-sensei's message as he clutched his phone tightly before he replied: **"I'll hold you to that promise, then."**

Tezuka had moved up to the org room, preferring not to bother himself with any distractions and waited for news about Fuji. His long wait made him write something down, which he had intended to write for Syusuke (A/N: Refer to Chapter 44 for what he wrote). The stoic youth was almost close to tears composing it, but kept his composure for the most part before his phone vibrated.

Yumiko had texted. Apparently she had activated the Call Divert feature on Fuji's phone when Tezuka had tried calling him up earlier, but to no avail. Deciding not to trouble her with the situation, Tezuka merely said that he was checking up on things and left it at that. From time to time, the tennis player had exchanged messages once more with Masato-sensei.

It didn't take much longer before Tezuka had finally received a message from Masato-sensei that they had found Fuji and were taking him back to Seigaku. At that moment, Tezuka heaved a huge sigh of relief. Not caring for what happened or where his boyfriend was found, the stoic youth asked how Fuji was and if he could see him.

Masato-sensei's reply was that Fuji was, at that moment, unresponsive – '_Traumatizing experience, I'd bet…'_ – and would be talking with the guidance, so there was no possible way that Tezuka would be able to see him anymore that day. Tezuka nodded his understanding before leaning back on the beanbag he had settled himself into. He pulled off his glasses and massaged his eyes. _'Bottom line… You're alright, Syusuke…' _he muttered.

Tezuka brought up his phone and stared at it for a long moment before moving to call the tensai – '_Just to see how he's doing…'_ – at Masato-sensei's suggestion. Fuji had answered the phone. Tezuka, hearing Fuji's tone, decided not to keep the conversation long and settled for making sure that his boyfriend was alright and that tonight was another night for chatting between them.

As he ended the call, the stoic youth pursed his lips. _'At least I won't be so distracted later…'_ he thought as he got to his feet, picked up his bag and started making his way to the tennis courts for the tennis clinic that evening.

_Little did they know that Takahiro sought out to strike again; and he was nowhere near slowing down in his task to get what he wanted: Fuji Syusuke._

**TBC**

---

A/N: I'll try to get parts 2 and 3 up as soon as possible. And a side-chapter as well looking into this situation will be composed, so watch out for that.


	46. Takahiro Saga: Palpitating Heart

Takahiro Saga: Palpitating Heart

Summary: The Takahiro saga; when it returned with a vengeance, how alliances were formed, how it came into a closure, and how Tezuka and Fuji coped through it all; from Tezuka's point of view. I present to you part 2 of 3. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

A/N: Warning. This chapter will be conversation-heavy. Roughly translated, and every word is true to its content.

------

Tuesday evening, Tezuka had come online after arriving home from his tennis clinic. Seeing Fuji online, the stoic youth hesitated for a moment before the familiar chat box of his boyfriend popped up.

**KUNIMITSU: Everything alright?  
SYUSUKE: Not everything.  
KUNIMITSU: I won't press you to tell me what happened…  
SYUSUKE: I'd rather let you know than find out from somebody else.  
SYUSUKE: Besides… I can't remember much of what happened…  
SYUSUKE: But the image of Shiro-sensei and Masato-sensei crashing through a door is hard to forget.**

Tezuka smiled. _'At least things weren't completely traumatizing for you, love… I'm relieved…'_

**SYUSUKE: Would you even want to know what happened?  
KUNIMITSU: Only if you want to tell me.  
SYUSUKE: …didn't I just say that I'd rather let you hear it from me than anyone else?  
KUNIMITSU: Alright…  
KUNIMITSU: I want to hear it.**

And so Fuji had started telling him what roughly transpired after they had went separate ways (A/N: Refer to Chapter 48 of TYDK). At some points, Tezuka was either at a loss for words or at the point of snapping. But he managed to keep himself composed through it all.

Tezuka, after hearing what had happened, expressed his usual worry over his boyfriend's well-being.

**SYUSUKE: You're the only one I have talked to since I got… er… saved.**

_'The fact that you've closed yourself to others will just get them to worry about you, Syusuke…'_ Tezuka thought with a frown.

Takahiro, of course, lost no time gloating. He had sent Fuji pictures of the incident before his chat box popped up on Tezuka's end. It took everything for Tezuka to prevent himself from verbally lashing out at the offender. _Especially _when Takahiro mentioned: **Game over. You lose. **

Tezuka's insides boiled as he typed in a response: **Who said this was a game?!**

Smug as he was, Takahiro scoffed: **Isn't it? **

And so a series of conversations was exchanged between the two.

**TAKAHIRO: So now, the decision is yours.  
TAKAHIRO: Are you going to give him to me without any trouble or do I spread those pictures tomorrow?  
TAKAHIRO: You have 60 seconds to decide.  
KUNIMITSU: It's funny.  
TAKAHIRO: 30 seconds.  
KUNIMITSU: Is this really the only way you can think of?  
KUNIMITSU: I'm not giving him up.  
TAKAHIRO: Really now?  
TAKAHIRO: What do you want? For what happened today to just happen again and again?  
TAKAHIRO: Then again, it's easier to break him.  
KUNIMITSU: All I want to happen is for you to disappear from our lives.  
TAKAHIRO: That can't happen because I'M the star around here.  
KUNIMITSU: Really now?  
TAKAHIRO: Of course.  
TAKAHIRO: Of course you're the only one interfering which is why I can't get what I want.  
TAKAHIRO: Now look. I have to get him by force.  
TAKAHIRO: Like earlier.  
KUNIMITSU: That's because you're too stubborn.  
TAKAHIRO: It's amazing. He's more responsive when he's semi-unconscious.  
TAKAHIRO: His cry was really like the ones you hear from the movies.  
TAKAHIRO: But what's strange about that…  
TAKAHIRO: Is why it was YOU he was looking for.  
KUNIMITSU: Does that need to be thought about?  
TAKAHIRO: Of course.  
TAKAHIRO: Because isn't it ME he should be calling out for in that kind of situation because I'm the one who's in front of him?  
TAKAHIRO: I'm also the one who's touching him.  
KUNIMITSU: The explanation is simple.  
KUNIMITSU: Because you're oppressing him, it's natural he called out for someone to save him.  
KUNIMITSU: It'd be illogical for that person to be you.  
TAKAHIRO: And why does it need to be you he called out for?  
KUNIMITSU: Because I'm the one he loves.  
KUNIMITSU: And not you.  
TAKAHIRO: You're making me angry.  
KUNIMITSU: I'm telling you a fact.  
KUNIMITSU: So live with it.  
TAKAHIRO: He just doesn't love you.  
KUNIMITSU: And what gives you the right to say that?  
TAKAHIRO: He's just playing with you and the moment he loses interest in you he's going to just throw you off to the side.  
KUNIMITSU: You're telling me all this because you're too stubborn to admit that I 'won'.  
KUNIMITSU: Like you know what he's really feeling.  
TAKAHIRO: I know because between the two of us I was the first one who loved him!  
KUNIMITSU: But you couldn't really win in this game.  
KUNIMITSU: Since your love was never returned.  
TAKAHIRO: If you didn't come then I never would've had any problems!  
KUNIMITSU: But I did come.  
TAKAHIRO: You're the one who should disappear among the two of us.  
KUNIMITSU: I'm not the one who takes drastic measures to get what I want.  
TAKAHIRO: I was the one who first had him.  
KUNIMITSU: Against his will.  
KUNIMITSU: Need I keep reminding you.  
TAKAHIRO: You'll never have him.  
KUNIMITSU: I should say that to you.  
TAKAHIRO: He is not and will never be yours.  
KUNIMITSU: My line once again.  
TAKAHIRO: He is mine, you asshole.**

**_'_**_So now he resorts to swearing…'_ Tezuka shrugged.

**KUNIMITSU: Wrong.  
KUNIMITSU: He is MINE. Unlike you, our love is reciprocated.  
KUNIMITSU: No matter what happens, you will never change his mind.  
KUNIMITSU: Because he's already chosen to be with ME.  
KUNIMITSU: BY HIS OWN FREE WILL.**

At this point, the Tezuka-Takahiro exchange was taking a drastic turn. Especially when Takahiro points out this statement:

**TAKAHIRO: He's worthless! He doesn't have any purpose except to be toyed with!  
TAKAHIRO: He has no purpose for you, so why are you putting so much effort?**

Tezuka's patience had snapped.

**KUNIMITSU: YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DEGRADE A HUMAN BEING, ESPECIALLY HIM!  
KUNIMITSU: YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WHAT REAL LOVE IS BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE!  
TAKAHIRO: And how could you even tell it's real love?!  
KUNIMITSU: Fact: If Syusuke and I did not love each other, why is it MY name he called out for and not yours?  
TAKAHIRO: Because you're the last one he saw.  
KUNIMITSU: Fact: If Syusuke and I did not love each other, would he even bother telling me what transpired?  
TAKAHIRO: So he can earn your sympathy.  
KUNIMITSU: Fact: If Syusuke and I did not love each other, wouldn't Syusuke have already chosen someone else?  
TAKAHIRO: He already has. You just don't know it.  
KUNIMITSU: Fact: If Syusuke and I did not love each other, why would Syusuke trouble himself writing a song for ME?  
KUNIMITSU: You can't fight the facts.  
TAKAHIRO: It was a friendship song.  
KUNIMITSU: You haven't learned to read between the lines.  
TAKAHIRO: You're just over-analyzing things.  
TAKAHIRO: Maybe you weren't even concerned with what happened earlier.  
KUNIMITSU: And you're quite sure about this how?  
TAKAHIRO: Who were the people who came, then?  
KUNIMITSU: Oh, if you only knew.  
KUNIMITSU: If anything, I was the one who informed them.  
TAKAHIRO: You're nothing but trouble.  
TAKAHIRO: After I'm through with Syusuke, I should do you next.  
KUNIMITSU: As if.  
TAKAHIRO: People like him shouldn't be given much attention.**

Tezuka's eye twitched. _'He didn't just say that…'_

**KUNIMITSU: If you haven't noticed, there are more than enough people giving him the attention HE DESERVES.  
TAKAHIRO: He doesn't deserve anything.  
KUNIMITSU: He doesn't deserve YOU.  
TAKAHIRO: Of course he doesn't.  
TAKAHIRO: I'm too great.**

It was at this same moment in time that Tezuka was chatting with the tensai in question, hoping to get him to open up a bit and somehow keep his mind off worrying about what he had just went through. It was a challenge for Tezuka to give off different vibes, but he was planning to endure it, for the sake of keeping things in order for as long as he could help it.

_'Though it's a bit difficult to avoid the topic, isn't it?' _Tezuka thought with a shrug of his shoulders.

**SYUSUKE: Ne… ano… were you scared as I was earlier..?  
SYUSUKE: Stupid question, I know…  
KUNIMITSU: Of course I was.**

**_'_**_I couldn't take my mind off the situation even if I wanted to… I was too worried about what had happened to you…' _

**SYUSUKE: Truth be told I thought I wasn't going to make it earlier…  
KUNIMITSU: Was it the timely entrance of the teachers that said otherwise?  
SYUSUKE: Maybe it was what made the difference.  
SYUSUKE: …Though I wonder how they found out when Takahiro told them that I was with you…  
SYUSUKE: Wait…  
SYUSUKE: You told them?**

_'I couldn't really keep that vital information to myself, now could I?' _Tezuka asked to himself as he typed up a response.

**KUNIMITSU: Yes.  
KUNIMITSU: Though I wish I had their numbers to tell them directly.  
SYUSUKE: Looks like you're the real hero of the day.**

Tezuka paused, a furious blush evident on his cheeks. _'I had to tell somebody about the situation… I couldn't sit by and let that jerk mess with you…'_

Tuesday evening turned into the early hours of Wednesday. Tezuka had been chatting with Syusuke and Masato-sensei; the latter of whom he had been discussing Takahiro's plan for Syusuke that Thursday.

_'Not having any options this time around is getting me a little uncomfortable…'_ Tezuka admitted to himself when he had asked Masato-sensei of what they could do to prevent a repeat of what had already happened to Fuji.

At around that time, Tezuka had made his decision. He wasn't fond of it, but if it was the only way to avoid Takahiro's plan from succeeding, the stoic youth would do it. He recalled a little conversation he had with the tensai that Tuesday when they were at the coffee shop.

**_"I was thinking whether I should cut my CS class or not…" Tezuka suggested._**

**_"You can't!" Fuji demanded immediately. "It's your major, isn't it?"_**

**_"True, but if cutting that class would be for the 'greater good' of things, then I don't mind doing so," Tezuka fired back. _**

_'And I still hold up to that statement… As long as Syusuke doesn't undergo what he did again…'_

Masato-sensei, after a bit of hesitance – and reassurance that it was alright for Tezuka to be cutting that class to begin with-, reluctantly agreed to the idea after making sure that the stoic youth was absolutely sure of his decision.

**MASATO-SENSEI: Are you sure you want to do this and have no regrets?  
KUNIMITSU: Yes, I'm sure. I'll probably regret it sooner or later (dependent on what happens during that session), but what's lost can be regained by putting that extra effort the next time around.  
MASATO-SENSEI: Are you sure that you are sure that you want to cut that class for this?  
KUNIMITSU: Yes.  
MASATO-SENSEI: Then it would seem that that is our only choice.  
MASATO-SENSEI: But remember, cutting classes is bad.**

_'I know… That's why I rarely do it…' _Tezuka thought and replied as such to the teacher. _'And Syusuke doesn't need to know…'_

----

Wednesday evening, Tezuka came online at around 7 in the evening, only to be bothered by Takahiro, who was intent on sending the buchou something; an audio file of sorts. Tezuka accepted the transfer, but after he listened to it, he deeply regretted the action.

At this same moment, Tezuka was chatting with Fuji, Saeki and Masato-sensei. Both Saeki and Masato-sensei had pointed out to the stoic youth that he shouldn't have listened to it – as it was an audio file containing Fuji's pleas of help that Tuesday. Tezuka, however, managed to keep himself deathly composed. After promptly stating that he was fine after listening to it, Saeki had inquired out of curiosity what the stoic youth's reaction was. Tezuka's reply was short: **Deep hatred.**

The conversation with Masato-sensei was, in Tezuka's opinion, enough for the educator to pick at the stoic youth's mind. One could say that thought alike when it came to these types of situations.

**MASATO-SENSEI: I would have preferred that you didn't…  
KUNIMITSU: Thankfully I'm not reacting as my mind is telling me to right now.  
MASATO-SENSEI: If it is along the lines of 'I want to kill Takahiro' then please don't hold back.  
KUNIMITSU: That's been on my mind long before I heard this.  
MASATO-SENSEI: Listening to someone plead for it all to stop and record it for your own amusement is inhumane.**

_'Isn't that the truth…'_ Tezuka thought, agreeing solemnly to this statement.

The night of conversations continued, and Tezuka was keeping himself busy making plans for the following day with Fuji – with hopes that the tensai would not see through his little lie so quickly -, as well as ignoring the audio file that Takahiro had just sent to the tensai.

Nearly 11 in the evening, Fuji pointed out that Takahiro was calling up his cell phone. But things started to take a strange turn when Fuji had sent his next message:

**SYUSUKE: I may be paranoid but…  
KUNIMITSU: Hm?  
SYUSUKE: He sent me a message to look out my window and I see a strange car outside.**

All composure gone from the stoic youth, he immediately asked the tensai for reassurance that he wasn't alone in the house. Fuji's reply that he reluctantly _was _alone in the house deeply unsettled Tezuka. If this wasn't enough, Takahiro's chat box popped up.

**TAKAHIRO: Last chance to break up with him.  
KUNIMITSU: I'm not breaking up with him.**

4 minutes of conversation were exchanged between Tezuka and Fuji, the former of whom was inquiring about why Yumiko had texted the stoic youth not long after he had tried – and failed – to contact Fuji the other day.

Takahiro's chat box returned – after Tezuka had closed it – with two words: **Your loss.**

10 seconds later, Fuji had messaged him: **And now I hear the doorbell.**

Tezuka's eyes widened. _'This isn't happening… This CAN'T be happening…' _he repeated in his mind, urging Fuji not to do anything drastic and stay inside. While that was happening, he took his phone and sent a quick message to Masato-sensei, casually inquiring about the possibilities of Takahiro visiting Fuji that evening – just so Tezuka didn't sound so frantic about it.

Of course, Masato-sensei had reassured the stoic youth that Fuji's family members would be around, but Tezuka regrettably informed the educator that that wasn't the case. Masato-sensei replied that he would be going to Takahiro's place to check, just in case.

Tezuka swore that his heart was palpitating now, but he tried his hardest not to outwardly show it or make it obvious to Fuji through their chat. Again, he was kept up-to-date with the situation by Masato-sensei, who had texted, confirming that Takahiro wasn't at home, apparently informing his parents that he would be sleeping over at Fuji's place. As Tezuka informed the tensai of the situation – and confirmed that Takahiro was indeed outside the residence -, he understood how scared Fuji was at that moment.

_'I understand how you feel… I just wish I could be there with you physically to keep you calm…' _Tezuka thought. _'But… you're not the only one who's frightened with this action…'_

Masato-sensei had informed Tezuka that he was on his way to Fuji's place, and instructed the stoic youth to relay the message to the tensai to stay inside. Wanting to do more, Tezuka chatted with the Fuji, requesting the tensai that he stay with him through all this and reassured him that everything will be just fine.

When Fuji had informed Tezuka – in all caps, no less – that the gate had been opened suddenly, Tezuka felt his heart beating faster, and informed Masato-sensei of the situation as soon as his phone could send the message.

When Fuji had begun talking Tezuka through what was currently happening on his end – detailing how another car had arrived, and how both sped off not long after. Tezuka took a moment to look at his phone and decided to confirm something with Masato-sensei. The reply came at the confirmation that it _was _Takahiro, and he and Shiro-sensei were in pursuit of the vehicle.

Tezuka heaved a huge sigh of relief, managing to calm himself down and stop his hands from shaking so bad and his heart to stop beating so fast. _'At least we've dodged another encounter with Takahiro for the time being, Syusuke…'_

**SYUSUKE: So your CS isn't a free cut, is it?**

Tezuka's heart skipped a beat. _'How did he…'_

**SYUSUKE: Kunimitsu…  
KUNIMITSU: I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN.  
SYUSUKE: Don't put your academics on the line because of me  
SYUSUKE: CS is your major!!  
KUNIMITSU: I know the risks I'm taking here.  
KUNIMITSU: It's a small price to pay...  
KUNIMITSU: And I've already decided.  
KUNIMITSU: I already told you, didn't I?  
KUNIMITSU: Believe me...  
KUNIMITSU: This was... the only option...**

_'And I'll stand by this decision no matter what, Syusuke… All because I care for you so much…' _Tezuka paused for a moment. _'I just wish you didn't have to find out about it so quickly…'_

Not wanting his mind to linger on it, Fuji snapped the stoic youth out of his worry when he mentioned that Yuuta had come home. Shaken for a moment, Tezuka gathered his bearings and asked the tensai to confirm things for their plans the following day (or later that day, having lost track of time). After making sure that Yuuta was settled in and with the tensai, Tezuka bid his good mornings to his boyfriend in the usual way.

_'I'll love you no matter what… Don't you ever forget that, Syusuke…'_ Tezuka thought as he logged off the messenger and shut down his laptop before shortly getting ready to go to bed. _'I'm overly grateful that you have all these understanding teachers who are willing to help us out with things…'_ was the stoic youth's final thoughts before he drifted off to sleep for the day ahead.

**TBC**

**----**

A/N: Part 3 will be typed up and posted up soon. A side-chapter (or an extra chapter, if you will), will be my next order of business, I guess. Look out for that.


	47. What Would've Happened

What Would've Happened…

Summary: Tezuka's contemplation into what would've happened if things didn't go the way it's been going up until this point, in first person PoV. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

A/N: This is an extra chapter that deals with Tezuka's contemplation into his relationship with Fuji. Just to give some readers a bit of enlightenment into how Tezuka views certain situations. This will be in the form of a question-and-answer for easier fluidity.

A/D (dedication): To my love, that you will read this with an open mind, to read things through before you lash out on me.

------

I recall Syusuke confessing his feelings for me, and that we had thought of trying things out, just to see if there could be anything more to be gained, or were we just forever destined to remain friends as we currently were. I admit that at the moment in time, I held no such similar feelings towards him.

[I shall also admit to the fact that my mind was somehow detached from my heart to recognize the feelings I held for Syusuke quick enough. A jumble of feelings and connections I couldn't make were all swirling around in my mind and in my heart.]

But when time passed… I realized that everything was somehow starting to take place. In the long run, Syusuke and I have engaged ourselves into doing three roleplays depicting romance… And yet to not experience such romance just seems surreal.

A few days before the convention we were to attend, Syusuke and I went to see a movie together. Both of us were on semestral break, after all. Even at that time, I was oblivious to anything the tensai would've wanted me to see to get his point across.

I was told that he would stop waiting and tell that to me had that freshman and Takahiro not arrive. You could say that the interference was my wake-up call. The interference of those two drove me to protect Syusuke by indirectly confessing how I felt towards him in return.

[It was only then did everything clear up; that I understood.]

**Would Syusuke and I still end up together had I not step in to help with the Takahiro situation?**

To be perfectly honest… it would be hard to imagine ifwe could. Syusuke and I already had the habit of chatting with each other every day, mainly for the sake of the roleplays back then. So it was only natural for the tensai to forward his concern to me when an unknown username suddenly starts being flirty with him.

If I declined to lend a hand in helping Syusuke deal with this duo… I don't even want to think about it.

If I did not confess to Syusuke right then and there, I don't think there would've been a chance for me to express my feelings to him another day…

**What if I did not take this journey with Syusuke in dealing with Takahiro?**

The simple fact that we were in different universities had already pinned up our dilemmas, which Takahiro had pointed out. Had I not gotten involved, I would not have bothered worrying about what was happening back in Seigaku and worried on my own troubles.

Things would surely have been different if I did not step in… Things I would rather not ponder on, for fear of causing my own grief.

I will say this: It is without a doubt that Syusuke would have been miserable beyond measure, and I don't even know if I would be able to help him recover (or even have the privilege of receiving the love that I have now from him) had I confessed any later than I really did… Could I have been able to take him away from his misery in a better way if I got myself involved any later than I actually did?

**Contemplation from not being with Syusuke now shifts to actual reality.**

**Do I truly deserve to be with him after all that's happened?**

Dealing with someone like Takahiro truly made me ask myself this question. While there have been numerous people who understand the love that Syusuke and I share… there is a question of whether or not I'm deserving of such a love.

I'm not the only one who loves Fuji Syusuke. People like Takahiro have proved that. So why is it _me _who gets to be with him in the end? Syusuke turned down a senior (who turned out to be one of the 5 seniors whose help I had enlisted in dealing with the Takahiro situation) just to be with me.

The only person who could tell me that is Syusuke…

I stay with him until now because I love him. Do I deserve him? I can't really say. But… I'm thankful that he's allowed me to stay by his side through all this.

**What is the kind of love I have for Syusuke?**

In truth, perhaps the kind of love I feel for Syusuke is the love that is fueled by my urgency to protect him… That's something I've learned to discover about myself. The more that Syusuke needs to be protected from danger, the more my heart is telling me to be there for him. Keeping him safe from harm is perhaps my top priority.

The only thing I cannot give him is the physical reassurance of being there for him whenever he needs some comfort. I always end up having other people protect him in my place, save him when he needs to be… All I've done to prevent things from happening to Syusuke when I can't be with him is to inform his teachers of the situation, who end up fixing the problem in the end.

**After contemplating on everything, what do I want to say to Syusuke at this very moment?**

I've said it time and again, that should be obvious in the two works I have posted in this online journal of mine (Chapter 1 and Chapter 44). But just to be clear of things, I will tell you now:

I am honored, flattered, privileged and glad that you've chosen _me_to be with you. Had this love of mine surfaced just a day later, everything would have been differently. Outcomes would have been different, and you and I would not be here under the protection of those who care enough to keep things as they are now.

As I put this chapter to I close, I hope to end all my self-contemplation of all this. Let this be a just reminder that I do not regret what we've entered into, Fuji Syusuke. Let this be a statement that this love of mine is true, and fate was the cause for me to confess at the time that I did.

I love you now and forevermore.

**TBC**

**----**

A/N: Part 3 shall be up soon.


	48. Takahiro Saga: Last Day

Takahiro Saga: Last Day

Summary: The Takahiro saga; when it returned with a vengeance, how alliances were formed, how it came into a closure, and how Tezuka and Fuji coped through it all; from Tezuka's point of view. I present to you part 3 of 3. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

A/N: I'll only be detailing what roughly happened with Tezuka and Fuji while they were together.

------

Thursday arrived, and Tezuka was feeling a bit wary about how the day was going to go. Much that they had already planned for how the day was going to turn out, there was the still the endless possibility of things going wrong. After all, Takahiro had already declared his intentions for Fuji that afternoon.

'_And I'm sure as hell not going to allow him that privilege…'_ the back of Tezuka's mind screamed.

--

Tezuka's three classes – Japanese Literature, Basketball and Math – passed by without the stoic youth really noticing. Taking notes or playing half-heartedly was all Tezuka managed to do to keep his mind from lingering too much from the matter at hand – spacing out in class wasn't something he'd settle to doing, after all.

When Math had ended earlier than expected, Tezuka hastily packed his bag and left the classroom without a word to his blockmates of his destination. His feet quickly brought him to pass a shortcut through his university into Seigaku, where he would be picking up the tensai.

The stoic youth found Fuji waiting for him and they quickly headed off to catch a bus headed in the direction of Tezuka's place. Takahiro, Fuji had informed the bespectacled youth, was probably still taking a Science exam, and a few of his classmates were standing guard out in the halls. While Tezuka was supposed to be relieved with this piece of information, he wanted to get his mind off the situation for as long as humanly possible.

On their second bus on the way to Tezuka's house, they got off before the vehicle could cross the main road – whether by chance or coincidence, Tezuka couldn't really tell. The stoic youth directed the tensai to a fairly new landmark that housed a number of stores and restaurants from which they could choose where to have lunch together. While their original plan was to eat at the food establishment just outside Tezuka's subdivision, the stoic youth had wanted them to eat at a new place for a change.

'_So it wasn't my mistake to get down early from that bus…'_ Tezuka noted to himself as he started listing off the restaurants there. One restaurant in particular caught the tensai's immediate attention and quickly responded that he wanted to eat there. Tezuka smirked to himself as he led the way. _'Never underestimate Syusuke's love for sushi…_' he told himself.

--

Entering the establishment, which was empty of customers except for them, they took a seat together and looked at the menu for a good long while.

"Can I have a 3-piece Ebi Tempura with Plain Rice?" Syusuke ordered.

Tezuka blinked, turning to Fuji before mentally shaking his head as the waitress jotted the tensai's order down. _'Should I take this as a coincidence that that is what I planned to order as well, Syusuke?' _Tezuka thought. "I'll have the same thing," he told the waitress.

"You choose the sushi," Fuji prodded with a warm smile.

Tezuka shook his head. "I'm not too much of a sushi person. You choose," Tezuka replied.

After a little debate of who would order sushi, it was eventually Fuji who ordered them 8 pieces of California Maki.

"What about a drink?" Tezuka suggested.

Fuji chuckled. "I forgot," he apologized before checking the menu and gave his order to the waitress.

"I'll just have a glass of water, thank you," Tezuka stated, handing his menu and Fuji's to the waitress before excusing herself. Tezuka turned to Fuji. "How unhealthy, ordering softdrinks," Tezuka scolded.

Fuji merely chuckled.

--

While waiting for their food, Fuji pulled out his vibrating phone to see that Takahiro was trying to call him. Tezuka rolled his eyes. _'He honestly expects Syusuke to answer?'_ he thought with a shake of his head. The stoic youth pulled out his own phone and tried to contact his father, asking if he was home.

Their lunch was spent mostly in silence. Besides the occasional, blunt remarks Tezuka gave to the tensai concerning the wasabi that he eagerly mixed with the tempura sauce, there was the case of the distribution of sushi. Tezuka was sure that he had given Fuji more than enough of his fair share of the eight pieces. Tezuka had taken in 3, while Fuji happily consumed the remaining 5, mixing wasabi with the sauce for his last sushi.

When it was finally time to pay, Fuji had gone and paid the bill – without so much as a protest from the bespectacled youth. _'Because you insist on doing it every single time, I won't stop you…'_ Tezuka had concluded as he collected his things as they both rose to their feet and headed out of the food establishment. _'I can use the money I don't spend to save up and get you something really special, Syusuke…'_

Hand in hand, they crossed the pedestrian overpass and walked the rest of the way to Tezuka's place. The discussion during their walk did not stray far from their current situation with Takahiro – much to Tezuka's distaste. Arriving at the gate, Tezuka was relieved that they were alone and led Fuji up to his room.

Tezuka closed the door behind him as Fuji immediately proceeded to the stoic youth's bed, where Kurt, Diego and Sasha were situated.

'_Next time I bring you over we'll not fuss over the 'kids'…'_ Tezuka promised himself as he moved to turn on his laptop for a short while. He had promised to show the tensai a certain program he had managed to get that reminded them of a particular game in the arcade (A/N: Do we all remember Tezuka playing 'Dance Dance Revolution'?). He brought his laptop to the bed with him and situated himself beside the tensai to demonstrate the game. After a while of that, Tezuka shuffled to show Fuji some videos and ended with using his laptop's webcam to snap another family picture with the addition of Sasha.

The time had read about 1 in the afternoon, and Tezuka had given Fuji the freedom to decide what time they were heading back to Seigaku. After all, Fuji still had a class with Shiro-sensei – _**"But when I saw him earlier, he told me that I was going to be late for his class," **_Fuji debated.

They spent the time lying about in Tezuka's bed, the tensai teasingly playing with the stuffed animals scattered there to prevent the stoic youth from falling asleep on him – which the former Seigaku captain was close to doing several times.

It was quarter to 3 when Fuji had announced that they should best be heading off. Tezuka nodded and pushed himself off the bed, fixing up his bag that contained only his tennis racket, his valuables, an extra shirt and a towel; the things that he would be needing for his last tennis clinic session that evening.

Tezuka led the way out of his subdivision and crossed the street where they waited for a bus.

It wasn't long before they managed to board one, and Tezuka had paid for the two of them since their first bus ride – and insisted to pay for the last one later on.

"Why didn't you tell me that I could catch a bus here?" Fuji inquired with a slight frown.

"Even if I told you, it'd be difficult to figure out which bus you want to take to head to where you want to go," Tezuka supplied tersely from beside the tensai.

--

It was about quarter past 3 in the afternoon when they had disembarked from the second bus. They used the ever-familiar blue bridge to cross and walked into Seigaku together, where Tezuka saw Fuji off at the entrance of the building. The bespectacled youth passed the shortcut back into his university and went to help with manning his org's booth along with one of his blockmates.

At about 4, he assisted in packing up before heading off to the tennis courts where the club would be having a meeting. When he arrived at around 4:30, Tezuka was containing his annoyance that there wasn't anybody at the meeting place, and momentarily wondered if he wasn't informed of a change of venue or some other reason.

At about quarter to 5, there were 4 other members of the club who had arrived and they had a quick recap of the things that needed to be done for the club. Tezuka pulled out his phone when he felt it vibrate and pulled it out. It was from Fuji.

Tezuka got to his feet, excused himself from his companions and was about to text a reply when he saw a familiar tinge of blue standing out amidst the trees that he recognized as Seigaku's uniform, saving Tezuka the trouble of typing a reply. He moved up to the tensai where they spent most of the time until 6 with Fuji informing Tezuka of what had happened in Seigaku while they were out (A/N: If BS decides to post the chapter on this, read it from there). For the time being, Takahiro was suspended.

-----

And now Shiro-sensei seemed to have required Fuji to do a video that was due in less than a month. Tezuka blinked. This particular video, upon request of quite a few people, had to contain one of two things: either a scene in the club room or a scene in Tezuka's room in Germany (A/N: You will all have to refer Chapter 1 of the 'Anything for You' roleplay available in my LJ to know about this). Groaning, Tezuka quickly pointed out that the former was simply impossible to recreate, therefore having to settle with the second option.

'_At least things are finally dying down for now…'_ Tezuka said with a final thought before he spotted his companions heading into the tennis court. He turned to Fuji with a chaste kiss before they parted, promising to chat with one another that evening.

**TBC**

---

A/N: Takahiro Saga is finally done for my part. We shall now take you back to our regular programming… :D


	49. For You

For You

Summary: Tezuka and Fuji have a last-minute date scheduled. Fuji invited Tezuka to watch a play at Seigaku with him one Saturday night, to which the stoic youth agreed. This is an account on what happened that day. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

A/N: In real-time perspective, this took place a week ago, so I apologize for the delay.

------

Tezuka was in the backseat of his mother's van as his parents gratefully offered to drop him off at Seigaku. Tezuka had informed his parents a few days back about Fuji's invitation to watch a play that evening, to which they agreed.

Up until yesterday, the stoic youth had a little debate about today's plans with the tensai. The former Seigaku captain was invited to a practice with his high school performing arts club that played Brazilian percussion in Seigaku after lunch that day. Tezuka had invited the tensai to come to the practice with him, but Fuji was reluctant and had to decline. After a while, Tezuka finally agreed that they meet after his practice.

The van came to a stop near the main entrance of Seigaku as Tezuka bid his parents farewell and disembarked. A few minutes back, his mother had given him some allowance to spend for dinner, so the stoic youth had figured. When he had entered the school, he pulled out his vibrating phone, only to find his mother calling.

"_Is the money I gave you enough?" _she inquired worriedly.

Tezuka stopped walking and turned around to see the van still there. He smirked. "No, I'm fine." He ended the call, watching the vehicle drive off before he texted: "I brought some extra money in case" and sent it to his mother.

After a little while of walking, Tezuka arrived at Seigaku High and entered, finding a few underclassmen that were either currently part of the club or were part of it when he was still around but changed clubs. Their trainer, Endo-sensei, arrived rather late, and decided to call off practice and offer to get them some coffee to make up for it. Tezuka resisted the urge to roll his eyes, concluding long before that the man was infamous for this type of behavior ever since he had joined the club.

Tezuka accompanied Endo-sensei to the coffee shop along with the Manetsu twins, both of whom had transferred schools in Tezuka's senior year as president of the club, but were part of the pioneer batch in Tezuka's junior year when the club was first established. Endo-sensei treated them some drinks during their short stay.

Tezuka pulled out his phone and had informed Fuji of the change of plans, deciding that they meet there instead of in Seigaku. He was in fervent discussion with Endo-sensei and the twins about the upcoming event that they would be attending before he felt his phone signaling that he had a message. He pulled it out and saw that it was from Fuji. He rose to his feet, excused himself and moved to locate the missing tensai. He spotted Fuji outside the establishment. Tezuka walked up to him and inquired where he wanted to go afterwards.

After a bit of debate, they finally settled on spending the rest of the afternoon at the nearby mall that they frequented. The train ride to the mall was spent in eerie silence. Tezuka and Fuji took a walk towards the arcade in hopes of finding something to do. Although Tezuka had reloaded his card with some credits, he ended up not using it in the first of the two arcades that they visited. Going a floor down, they entered the second one before Tezuka moved up to an empty karaoke booth and ushered Fuji to enter before he followed and closed the door behind him.

Tezuka was innately glad for this decision because it allowed the tensai to tell him what was on his mind that ignited the silence and refusal of playing any game. It seemed that Fuji's mind was on Takahiro and his relations inside Seigaku as they had seen a friend of Takahiro's as they entered the train station earlier.

Tezuka picked out a few songs to sing – ones that he knew had messages of love here and there – before managing to shove the thick songbook into the tensai's hands, urging him to pick out a song as well. The mood had definitely changed when Fuji complied and chose to sing a few songs as well.

Tezuka smiled to himself. _'At least there's this understanding between us that we can tell each other what we're worried about…'_ he thought.

The couple spent most of their time singing songs until about 5:30, when they had spent up the credits of Tezuka's arcade card before retiring to have an early dinner. They left and took a look around, deciding to have dinner at the food court. They went their separate ways, ordering their own little dinners before deciding to head back to Seigaku for the play.

--

After a while, Tezuka and Fuji were in line to enter the small theater – and the stoic youth pursed his lips to contain himself from assigning laps to one of the actors outside hitting people on the head with a toy bat. He was sure Fuji was chuckling deep down.

Once they had found good seats, they sat down and Fuji took a while to look around, as if expecting to see anybody he knew. The tensai spotted a few of the seniors, announcing this to Tezuka before he quickly retracted his head from looking at the back.

Tezuka glanced over to his boyfriend, frowning. "What's wrong?"

"Look behind you."

Tezuka preferred not to and pressed the question. "Who is it?"

"Takahiro…"

Tezuka groaned before kept himself from shifting his gaze, taking Fuji's hand and squeezed it. "Don't worry about it." A small pause before he pulled out his phone. "Shall we inform Masato-sensei?"

Fuji nodded as Tezuka typed up a new message and sent it to the teacher before slipped the device back into his pocket.

--

The play began not long after. Tezuka found it difficult to hold back his laughter when some comedic lines or actions were delivered, so he didn't bother to put in the effort and just let it out – much to Fuji's amusement, he was sure.

During intermission, Fuji took a cautious glance behind them and spotted Takahiro leaving and relayed this to Tezuka. The stoic youth followed the tensai's gaze and caught a glimpse of the leaving student before frowning, bringing his attention back to the stage.

Just before the second part of the play began, Fuji looked behind him to see that Takahiro didn't come back. Tezuka nodded to himself at the news. _'Whatever it is, I don't want to worry about him right now…'_

And so the couple sat through the rest of the play. After the curtain call, he and Fuji rose to their feet and made to exit the theater, congratulating the cast before heading out to wait for Tezuka's parents to arrive to pick him up.

They sat themselves down at the benches when discussion landed on Takahiro, the senseis and the rest of the regulars for a while. Their conversation took an interesting turn when Fuji had mentioned a short conversation that happened in Shiro-sensei's class.

Fuji explained that Shiro-sensei had announced that he had a new student in his extra-curricular class, to the point of explaining to Fuji that the tensai knew who it was. When Fuji had mentioned Tezuka's name, Shiro-sensei confirmed it. The tensai then tried to recall what was mentioned. "What's F101?"

Tezuka shook off a blush from forming on his cheeks and decided to inch away from the tensai. A small chase arose from this. "It's silly and embarrassing," Tezuka admitted when he had given up from moving away from Fuji.

Fuji kept on prodding regardless, but Tezuka kept his mouth shut.

"You'll find out eventually…" Tezuka stated. "Just not now…"

Talk of the class died down as they moved to talk about other things before Tezuka saw a familiar van approach before the two said their goodbyes. Tezuka got into the backseat and greeted his parents as they began to drive off.

'_I would prefer that you not hear it from me… About what the class is for…' _Tezuka thought, looking out the window with a slight blush decorated on his cheeks as he adjusted his glasses hesitantly.

**TBC**

--------

A/N: I'm sure you people are curious as Syusuke is in what this F101 class is. So….. I _may _write a chapter devoted to discussing the said class. Take note that I may also choose _not _to post one at all. So for all you curious readers, keep your fingers crossed! ^_^


	50. Middle of the Night

Middle of the Night

Summary: Tezuka wakes up in the middle of the night, images of the afternoon spent with Fuji swirling about in his head. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

A/N: I have deliberately put as little detail into what exactly happened to maintain the privacy of the people involved. Let your imaginations run wild, though.

------

Tezuka was panting. It was close to midnight, and sweat was pouring down the sides of his face. The room was dark; the stoic youth was sitting up, a hand cradling his head. Lingering images were swimming in his hazy mind; images of what happened that afternoon.

Tezuka cringed as his body recounted the light touches running down his back and neck. The stoic youth shut his eyes, shuddering.

'_This is what happens if I let my guard down…'_ Tezuka scolded himself, his back straightening subconsciously.

Tezuka slowly shook his head. "Never again…" he muttered to himself. "If I let my guard down with Syusuke again…" He slowly brought a hand to his lips, trailing off.

The stoic youth closed his eyes. Flashes of images returned to him, forcing his eyes open again. He cringed again as the sensation from earlier ran through his spine. He shook his head before slowly lying back down.

'…_That's not really something to stake on probability… I already know I will… Just because it's him…'_ Tezuka finished in his mind, trying to ease his mind so that he could finally get himself some sleep.

An edge of the stoic youth's lips curled upwards. _'…But I'm glad it's him…' _In Tezuka's mind, he didn't care if he would feel that tingling sensation again. As long as it was Syusuke, he didn't bother.

**TBC**


	51. Giving

Giving

Summary: Tezuka and Fuji find time to see each other on the day of their 3rd monthsary despite their hectic schedules that Monday. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka woke up that Monday morning thinking about the day ahead. It was around 7:40 in the morning when he brought himself to take a shower to rid him of his sleep. He was originally supposed to hitch a ride with one of his cousins to school, who, his father informed him, was leaving at 8:30. When the stoic youth was dressed and ready for school, he checked the time and saw that at around 8:00, there was still no movement from his cousin.

Tezuka shrugged. _'Looks like I'm commuting this morning…'_ he told himself as he brought his bag over his shoulder and turned everything off – the TV and his laptop – in his room before moving to head out.

A few hundred steps down the long street of his subdivision, Tezuka paused and looked down at his shoes. He furrowed his brows as he examined them. _'They're getting worn out…'_ he noted with a shrug. _'I foresee my feet to hurt at the end of today…'_ he added, shaking his head as he put on one earplug and turned his iPod on.

It didn't take long for Tezuka to commute to school that took him two bus rides. There wasn't as much traffic, which satisfied the bespectacled youth as he eventually got down at the blue bridge. _'It's only been a few minutes and I'm already worn out… Darn shoes…'_ he cursed silently to himself as he made his way into his university for his first class.

----

Tezuka was tasked to do a little errand for one of his two organizations – reserve a room for the upcoming Art Tutorials. The stoic youth made quick strides from the isolated building where his last class was held to the office to check the availability of rooms. Soon after, Tezuka had to trudge off to another building to get approval before returning to that particular office for approval.

It took Tezuka almost an hour to get everything in order before getting in contact with Fuji as he began making his way to the shortcut into Seigaku. The tennis player found himself a little out of breath from walking so much – though he had to blame his shoes indeed for the lack of support it gave. He sat himself down at a bench to wait for Fuji to rest a little.

When Fuji had finally arrived, Tezuka asked for a few moments more to rest. The former buchou took some time examining Fuji, smiling inwardly at the gold band decorating Fuji's finger. Tezuka rose to his feet to indicate that they start their walk and began making their way to a particular donut shop to spend some time together.

While they were there – and enjoying some donuts while they were at it, talk about their roleplays on the forum came up. Tezuka pulled out a notebook where he scribbled the possible plans for two of their roleplays and kept track of the timeline for one roleplay (A/N: Anything for You), browsing through it and held it out to Fuji where he took note of a particular list they had completed before and would use in due time.

Tezuka pulled out his pen and wrote something down before Fuji straightened and began rummaging his bag to try and locate his own pen of the same brand. Tezuka slowly packed his notebook away as Fuji searched his bag. The tensai sighed. Both of his pens were gone; one he had lost that morning, and the other he was sure he left in the room where he did some work back in Seigaku.

"Do you want me to buy you a new one?" Tezuka piped up.

Fuji shook his head. "It's alright. I can get one in Seigaku. It's cheaper there," the tensai replied.

"I don't mind," Tezuka argued.

"Didn't you say you were saving up for something?" Fuji countered.

"I did, but that's what Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are for."

Fuji frowned and shook his head once more. "It's alright."

This little debate went on in silence with Fuji still refusing and Tezuka urging to buy the tensai a new pen. The stoic youth paused and pulled out his phone and typed a message and showed it to Fuji.

The message read: 'It's already our monthsary and yet you still decline?'

The tensai sighed before finally agreeing.

Tezuka smirked before stashing his phone away. After a while, he got to his feet as they made their way to the nearby bookstore to purchase the said item.

After getting a satisfactory pen, Fuji pulled Tezuka up to the second floor to look at a few textbooks. When the tensai was through browsing, they headed back downstairs.

"What was that for?" the stoic youth inquired.

"For my major," Fuji replied smoothly.

"Which one?" the stoic youth inquired, knowing full well that Fuji had two classes that focused on his major that semester.

"Both."

"For next year, you mean?" Tezuka asked.

Fuji nodded.

They moved up to the counter and while waiting in line, Tezuka winced before turning to Fuji, furrowing his brows. "What was that for?" he demanded, bringing a hand to his shoulder.

The tensai smiled. "That was a 'thank you' bite," he teased.

Tezuka resisted the urge to twitch his eyebrow before muttering a 'Don't mention it' and paid for the pen.

They left the bookstore and begrudgingly parted ways. Fuji needed to head back to Seigaku to go home with his sister while Tezuka went to attend to his club activities. They parted with a kiss before they want separate ways.

Tezuka arrived at the tennis courts, his feet aching still before meeting with the other members. After a while, the stoic youth borrowed a spare racket and began hitting a few rallies and eventually ended up playing a short doubles match. While he managed to hit some service aces, Tezuka frowned at his partner's lack of proper service which inevitably cost them the game (which was just a race to 4 than a traditional 1-set match).

'_I still blame the shoes…'_ he told himself firmly before he was picked up by his mother to go home.

--

After he had eaten dinner and gone up to his room, Tezuka went online. He smiled softly at Fuji's chat window popping up and began chatting with the tensai, who seemed to be busy working on a report. Just the night before, Tezuka had been chatting with Shiro-sensei (who was, in fact, the stoic youth's teacher for F101) about Fuji. The educator shared that he had found out about a particular song that the tensai was fond of and suggested that the stoic youth sing it for Fuji.

Tezuka felt himself blush at the idea but complied. On the evening of their third monthsary, Tezuka opened up his recording program and got to work; he wanted to finish it and send it to Fuji before the day ended. After he was satisfied with the output – as best as he could work with his sore throat-, he proceeded to send the recording to the tensai.

Fuji did not seem to waste time expressing his appreciation (and love) for the gesture the stoic youth did. Tezuka smiled softly.

'_Anything for you, Syusuke… I'm just glad I could make you happy…After three months of being together…_'

**TBC**

---

A/N: If you're all curious of the song, it's **Lullaby for a Stormy Night** by Vienna Teng. Beautiful, beautiful song.


	52. Giving Part 2

Giving - Part 2

Summary: Tezuka contemplates on the day that passed, what awaited that noontime when he would be seeing the tensai, and anticipated what was to happen in the coming days. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka fought back a yawn. His Japanese Literature class was given a free cut that day, but the stoic youth still found himself in school at 7 in the morning. His first class was at 9.

The former buchou sat himself on one of the benches just outside the computer lab as he waited patiently for it to open. Tezuka shrugged.

---

While yesterday got him tired from walking too much – the bespectacled youth figured it was due to his lone commute to the mall and back – spending time with Fuji was a good way to end the day before he made the commute home.

His meeting with Fuji at Seigaku earned him a rare privilege to see Kaidoh, who had joined them for an early dinner at the request of the tensai. Tezuka didn't waste time handing Fuji a heart-shaped cookie that he had purchased earlier that day at his school, where a number of organizations were selling different merchandise for Valentine's Day. After some unexpected greetings to some people who were at the food establishment – Tezuka's former classmates or clubmates from Seigaku High, as well as some of Fuji's own blockmates from Seigaku – the threesome made a short commute back to Seigaku.

Tezuka found it a tad bit annoyed that Fuji had insisted on walking the whole way back. But given the circumstances of Tuesday's fiasco, the stoic youth did not want to burden the tensai's sprained ankle any more than it would need to if they could help it. Tezuka was thankful that Kaidoh showed the same concern. When they had parted ways, Tezuka commuted home while Fuji and Kaidoh went back into Seigaku to attend to a play that they were required to watch that evening.

Exactly a week prior to that Wednesday, Tezuka had made the decision of withdrawing from Saturday's performance with his high school club and informed Endo-sensei about it (A/N: You will refer to Chapter 49 about said event). When that was done, Tezuka forwarded this decision to Fuji as well. The tensai expressed his immediate concern, inquiring why Tezuka had abandoned the performance when it was clearly important to him.

'_To be honest, it was a matter of choosing between that or spending time with you on Valentine's Day, Syusuke,' _Tezuka admitted to himself. _'This decision of mine should be enough to show you what sacrifices __**I **__can make as well for the sake of our relationship.' _

Tezuka had stayed up that evening waiting for Fuji to come online. They had only exchanged about an hour's worth of conversation before the tensai had requested to go to bed early, claiming that he was tired and sleepy already. The stoic youth dared not complain and sent the tensai off to bed.

---

After nearly an hour of waiting that Thursday morning, Tezuka finally entered the computer lab when its doors were unlocked. He sat himself at one of the computers and set right off to work. He took out a case where he kept his iPod and his USB and pulled the latter out for use before he noticed a slip of paper and pulled it out, unfolding it. He smiled to himself as he read its contents.

'_Let's just hope Syusuke will appreciate the gesture, then…'_ he thought to himself, folding it once more and tucked it back in its place before moving to plug his USB into the computer. He was going to meet with Fuji later after his Math class at the usual time by the blue bridge.

'_The final step will be executed tomorrow…  
By then, I'll have efficiently prepared everything…  
I don't regret giving up that performance on Saturday for spending time with you, Syusuke…  
To prove my point, just wait for that day to arrive…  
And then you'll understand…  
I'll test your patience a bit more…  
And hope that any efforts I've made will not be put to waste.'_

**TBC**


	53. Dealing with Stubbornness

Dealing with Stubbornness

Summary: A continuation to 'Giving: Part 2'; what happens when Tezuka and Fuji meet that day. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka pulled out his phone, confirming his meeting with Fuji via text. After a moment of considering the tensai's situation, sent a second message insisting that Fuji wait in Seigaku instead while the stoic youth took the extra effort to enter the university.

When they were dismissed early from their Math class, Tezuka briskly headed out ahead of his blockmates, dropped his bag off at their usual venue while awaiting their 1pm class and headed off to a particular area that he had visited the day before.

--

Wednesday morning, Tezuka had come down from his classroom during Literature class – that was a free cut – to examine a stall that an org had set up, selling all kinds of merchandise for Valentine's Day. The stoic youth found himself obliged to get something from it and bought a heart-shaped butter cookie that he would give to Fuji when they met up later that day. Tezuka also felt obliged to purchase a rose, and ordered one that he would pick-up the following day and give to Fuji as well.

--

Tezuka gripped on the slip of paper that he had examined earlier; it was a receipt to pick-up the rose he had ordered. The stoic youth chose that day to wear his Seigaku Tennis Club jacket, where he conveniently stashed the rose away underneath it as he began making his way to Seigaku.

Tezuka entered the school and eventually spotted the tensai with Kaidoh. The underclassman excused himself and left the two alone, to which the former buchou was grateful. After a few minutes of idle chatter, Tezuka revealed the rose and offered it to tensai.

Everything that had happened afterwards was just random chatter between the two, practically taking up most of the hour that Tezuka had before he had to rush back to class.

One topic in particular, however, got the stoic youth worried about the tensai. Apparently Fuji had spent all of his allowance by midday commuting to school and paying for school-related things that he had zero money left for lunch. Tezuka, who was budgeting his own allowance, suggested that he give the tensai some money for food, to which Fuji declined. Tezuka had even threatened not to go to his class if Fuji didn't accept it.

After a while, Tezuka decided to switch tactics when Fuji had still declined.

"I'm doing this because I'm worried about you, you know…"

Fuji kept silent before turning to the bespectacled youth. "And how are you sure that I'll spend it?"

Tezuka managed a small smile. "I trust that you will."

When Fuji had still declined – though Tezuka was sure the tensai was considering it now - Tezuka needed one last push, which meant that he had to count on how well he knew Fuji. "Even if it's just this once, Syusuke; pay me back if you want to… Just so long as you eat something…"

Tezuka held out the bill of money when the tensai finally succumbed to accepting it.

"As long as I pay you back," Fuji insisted.

"Hai, hai," Tezuka said almost impatiently.

They parted with a brief kiss before Tezuka sprinted off back to his university for his last class; one that he was just 5 minutes late for.

'_Looks like I'm not the only stubborn one among the two of us…'_ the stoic youth thought to himself.

**TBC**


	54. Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day

Summary: Tezuka and Fuji meet up on Valentine's Day to spend most of the day in each other's company. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

A/N: Of course, a long delay on posting this yet again. I apologize.

------

Tezuka woke up to his alarm clock after snoozing it for 20 minutes. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes at 8:20 in the morning, his mind trying to shake off the last of his sleep as he got out of bed and dragged himself to the bathroom to take a shower.

Tezuka double-checked his wallet; he had pulled out his savings and would be using it for today – appropriate as that sounded. He took a bag with him – that housed his umbrella among other things on the off-chance of bad weather before trudging downstairs. Two cars were missing from the garage, which had meant that his parents had gone to take his mother's van to the shop for its check-up.

The stoic youth adjusted his glasses once before heading out. As he walked down the long street, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to his mother, stating that he was on the way to meet with Fuji. The reply he received caused him to blush slightly.

'**Ok take care. Happy Valentine's Day!'**

Tezuka shook off his train of thought and punched in a reply, greeting his parents a 'Happy Valentine's' as well. He then punched in a message that he sent to Fuji, stating that he was on his way. When he sent it, he looked up and stopped in his tracks when he saw the hood of a familiar stage-wagon that he familiarized as his father's car. Tezuka, who was hidden behind a parked car, took a few steps forward to avoid detection and confirmed the plate number before shaking his head. He slipped his phone into his pocket and proceeded to head out of his subdivision and get onto a particular bus.

After much debate with the venue of their lunch date, Tezuka had convinced Fuji that they have an early lunch at a restaurant across his university that they had chanced upon eating in once before. _'It isn't overly difficult to convince Syusuke with tempura, it seems,'_ the stoic youth thought to himself in slight amusement.

Wanting to make sure that he put Fuji's health above everything else, Tezuka coaxed the tensai to meet up with him at the small convenience store so they could take some public transportation to go to the restaurant. Tezuka was the first to arrive and he sat himself down at an empty stool and waited patiently for Fuji to arrive.

After some minutes of waiting, the stoic youth pulled out his phone to find that Fuji was waiting for his older sister Yumiko, as she was going out as well to meet up with a relative nearby. And Tezuka continued to wait. The bespectacled youth heard his stomach grumble – though he couldn't really blame it because he had left the house skipping breakfast – before shrugging, wondering how much longer he had to wait.

Fuji finally came in through the doors and greeted Tezuka, taking the empty seat beside the stoic youth to rest for a little while. They talked casually about a few things before they stood and left the convenience store and made their way to the restaurant.

----

When they got there, both Tezuka and Fuji found the place to be nearly empty, save for another customer who was eating in their lonesome. They were escorted to a table before menus were given out to them. It was Tezuka who looked through it and ended up placing both their orders, giving Fuji the freedom to choose their sushi.

While waiting, Tezuka found himself smiling more that the tensai didn't fail to point it out. The stoic youth's reasoning was because of the nightly conversations he had been having with Shiro-sensei.

'_I swear, the way he abuses those smilies…_' Tezuka thought bitterly to himself, shaking his head (A/N: If you are all wondering, I am referring to the use of this smiley: ^_____________^). It was interesting to note, however, that Tezuka had begun reminding the tensai of Shiro-sensei for the sudden change in demeanor. Normally Tezuka would've just shrugged off the comparison, but implored innately why he felt almost complimented.

The bespectacled youth had been chatting with Shiro-sensei primarily as a student of the F101 course. But having graduated early, he remained under the educator's radar and has still been bothered with helping out to attend to Shiro-sensei's other students; one of which happened to be Fuji, who was taking an advanced class of F104. Tezuka briefly recalled that afternoon before he was informed of his eligibility to graduate that Fuji was attending F104 under Shiro-sensei, which chiefly had Tezuka gritting his teeth in mild irritation.

For Valentine's Day, Tezuka was almost glad for whatever advice he had received in planning for the day's events from Shiro-sensei. _'…I think that would be reason I find myself smiling a lot more… Giddy, I believe is the term?' _he thought to himself as the food was set down in front of them.

Tezuka and Fuji consumed the Ebi Tempura and Kakiage sushi at a hearty pace, inserting some random chat here and there on random things. When all was said and done, they asked for the bill, which Tezuka had taken the liberty of paying for. As he scanned at the receipt, he smirked to himself. _'So I was right in my assumption…'_ He pulled out his wallet and took out a few bills and set them in the booklet before handing it off to the waitress. _'…This wouldn't cost as much as what I got for Syusuke…'_

After receiving the change, they took a few minutes to rest before finally rising from their place and decided to finally start heading off to Tezuka's house to spend the rest of the afternoon.

-----

Upon arriving there at about noon, Tezuka locked the door behind him as soon as both he and Fuji had entered the room.

Tezuka had already anticipated it (or rather saw it coming because Shiro-sensei had hinted at it the night before), but he was glad that Fuji had gotten him something as well. Fuji was first. The tensai had pulled out something from his bag, revealing it to be a small, yellow Labrador. Tezuka slowly eased himself onto the bed beside Fuji and took the stuff animal, looking at for a long moment.

Fuji chuckled at the sight. "It's cute, isn't it?" he said quietly.

Tezuka nodded, searching his slowly malfunctioning brain for a name to give his new pet. "Hershey…" he breathed, as the tensai chuckled more in amusement. As soon as he moved Hershey aside, Tezuka moved to momentarily blindfold the tensai as he moved to his backpack to retrieve the gift he had gotten for the tensai. He knelt himself down on the floor by the bed in front of Fuji and opened the box.

"You can take the blindfold off, Syusuke," Tezuka stated firmly as he watched Fuji fiddle with the bandana before finally pulling it off.

As cerulean eyes were revealed, Tezuka's hazel ones carefully observed the tensai's reaction to the item that lay inside the small box; it was a silver necklace with the pendant of a dolphin. Tezuka put on a genuine smile as he noted the tensai's brief disbelief at the piece of jewelry before him.

"A necklace?" Fuji choked.

Tezuka nodded. "Yes."

"For me?"

Tezuka nodded once more. "Who else?" Tezuka got up and sat down beside the tensai before he placed it around Fuji's neck, pecking him on the cheek afterwards. "Happy Valentine's Day," he greeted quietly.

"Happy Valentine's," the tensai replied, returning the gesture with a kiss of his own.

What occurred in the span of the afternoon was almost bliss for the stoic youth. It had grown to be one of the few times that they would be spending alone with each other. Tezuka's bed became the site for various moments between the two, which the stoic youth made no complaints to.

Every kiss, every touch and most every word remained engraved in Tezuka's memories when it was time for the tensai to leave for home. While waiting outside the house for the taxi to arrive, Tezuka and Fuji spent those moments talking about a number of random things to lighten the mood.

-------

Tezuka sighed heavily as the taxi arrived to take Fuji home as they exchanged their goodbyes. Sitting down to dinner with his parents and his cousins, the stoic youth couldn't help but be envious with both his cousins, both of whom had either their boyfriend or girlfriend over and having dinner with them.

Later that evening, Tezuka came online only to be greeted by the tensai that brought a smile to the tennis player's face. After chatting for a while, another chat window that belonged to Shiro-sensei popped up, asking how the day went.

Whether Tezuka uniquely found himself seemingly brainwashed or not, he told the educator of earlier's incident where Fuji had compared the youth to the older man. While Tezuka expected Shiro-sensei to simply grin widely in response, what followed caught the stoic youth by surprise.

"I have found my protégé."

'_I understand that you've influenced me to be… giddier than I would have liked to be, but…'_ Tezuka paused in the midst of his thoughts, shaking his head in disbelief. The stoic youth refused to believe that he had anything at all in common with Shiro-sensei to suddenly become his apprentice. _'We're two TOTALLY different people!' _he reasoned with defiance.

--------

The rest of the evening passed in quiet stride, save for a few brief moments of quarrel. Tezuka was convinced that it would be the first of many more Valentine's to spend with Fuji.

**TBC**


	55. Visit to Hong Kong

Visit to Hong Kong

Summary: Tezuka goes off with his family and some of his relatives for a three-day vacation in Hong Kong for the long weekend. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

A/N: I will not include too many details (especially with street names, shop names or restaurant names) unless I actually remember them.

------

Tezuka woke up to his alarm at 5:30am as though he were getting ready for school. It was Saturday, which only meant one thing: he was going to leave for Hong Kong for the weekend.

It distraught the bespectacled youth for a whole day to realize that he would be literally away from Fuji for the next three days. Tezuka hoped, at the very least, that the hotel that he, his parents and some relatives would be staying at had internet access.

When everybody was dressed and ready to leave, they begun their voyage to the airport as Tezuka whipped out his phone and typed up a message that he sent to Fuji. The usual 'I love you and miss you' business, of course.

Upon arrival at the airport, Tezuka, his mother and his two cousins Kaori and Kurei proceeded to check-in their luggages while Tezuka's father Kuniharu went to park the car in his office nearby. The quartet dealt with checking in, paying travel tax and getting through immigrations before finally sitting down to breakfast. Kuniharu joined the group upon getting his own ticket to join them.

After waiting for nearly an hour and a half, Tezuka pulled out his phone, staring at it for a long while before he selected Fuji's name from his contact list and called the tensai up. It was after the second ring did Fuji pick up.

"Hello?" came the sleepy voice of his lover. Tezuka chuckled.

"Good morning," Tezuka greeted.

"Good morning," Fuji replied.

"Sorry for waking you up love," Tezuka apologized. "I just thought I'd call to tell you we're boarding the plane in a few minutes."

"Oh really?"

"Aa. I'm just waiting for my mother and Kaori to return from the bathroom so we could leave."

"I see."

"So that's all. I love you."

"I love you too, Mitsu."

"I'll miss you."

"Miss you too."

The buchou saw the two approaching. "Listen, I need to go."

"I'll miss you, love," Fuji stated.

"See you soon." Tezuka quickly ended the call and moved to board the plane along with the rest of his companions.

----------

DAY 1:

After the hour and half long flight, the group arrived in Hong Kong International Airport. It didn't take the group long to get through customs and navigate their way around the airport. A bit after Tezuka and his cousin Kaori finding themselves momentarily lost and away from Tezuka's parents and their cousin Kurei, they managed to find the meeting area for their shuttle to the Kimberley Hotel, where they'd be staying while they were there.

A few hours on the bus with the tour guide speaking in Chinese to the rest of the travelers, the group finally arrived at their destination. They met with the rest of Tezuka's relatives and checked into the hotel and dropped off their luggage. Tezuka had found out that it would cost them a bit to get internet access in the hotel, so he sighed deeply in disdain that he'd be unable to go online to chat with Fuji for even a few minutes.

Tezuka shook this off as he and the group headed off for a late lunch. They found a restaurant not far from the hotel and sat down to lunch. A number of pictures were taken with Kaori and Kurei's DSLR cameras, as well as Tezuka's mother's camera and his other cousin Kuneru's.

After partaking in lunch, the group went on a little shopping spree and visited the nearby park. Kuneru, who had been there before, became their navigator along the busy streets of Kowloon. By the end of that afternoon, Tezuka found himself wearing a red fleece vest and new shoes his mother had bought for him.

The group decided to visit the Peak that evening after dropping their things in their hotel room. After a long taxi ride, they arrived and the climate was nearing 0 degrees Celsius. They took a look around the place and started getting some souvenirs. As Tezuka looked around, his eyes caught sight of a particular pair of key chains he recognized as the same one that he and Fuji owned.

'_And it still has that same typographical error…'_ he noted, holding back a chuckle. He scanned the other key chains before pointing it out to his mother.

"You want to get one for you and Syusuke?" Tezuka Ayana inquired.

Kunimitsu nodded.

Ayana smiled and looked at the others. "Then help me choose one for your cousin to bring back home," she stated.

Kunimitsu looked at the group of key chains, wondering what his cousin Kaoru would like for him and his girlfriend. Eventually, Kaori had joined them and the threesome made final decisions with what to get.

'_That settles the souvenir I'm getting for Syusuke…'_ he thought to himself.

Not long after, Kurei spotted a shop where one could avail of internet service for 30 minutes and was more than happy to pay the fee. After all, he wanted to update his girlfriend of their vacation. Kaori and Tezuka joined the older boy and asked if they could send their own quick e-mails and Kurei was more than happy to oblige.

When Tezuka got his chance to use the internet, he quickly signed onto his account and typed up a cryptic mail that he addressed to Fuji. Since they were on limited time, he kept the message brief. _'Well… At least I've managed to let him know, right?'_ he thought before clicking on the 'Send' button.

Once that was done, the trio went down and joined the rest for a later dinner at Burger King before hailing a few taxis for the trip back to the hotel to end their first day in Hong Kong.

----------

DAY 2:

Tezuka awoke the next morning from his stiff pull-out bed that Sunday, rubbing his eyes sleepily before getting ready for the day. Once everybody was ready to go, they headed off for a late breakfast in McDonald's (where they had vouchers). On the way there, Saeko, his cousin-in-law, began asking him questions about him and Fuji.

'_She always does this…'_ he noted to himself, averting his gaze for a moment and tried to answer her questions with a little detail as possible.

Upon arriving at the food establishment, Tezuka sat at a table with his father while the others were purchasing their food before the bespectacled youth spotted something on the table that informed the customers of 20 minutes of free Wi-Fi access. Tezuka turned to his father and asked if he could borrow his laptop that he had brought along.

It wasn't long before they had access to the internet once more and Tezuka hastily checked his inbox and found a reply from the tensai. A small smile came to his lips. He didn't fail to notice that Fuji had updated his online journal while he was away and, after typing up a quick message to Fuji, read the new entries before smirking. _'The things you do and think of while I'm away…'_ he thought in slight satisfaction. Tezuka handed the laptop off to Kaori, who wanted to use it for a little while as well.

When everybody had finished their breakfast, they began their long commute to the MTR station, planning to spend the rest of the day in Hong Kong Disneyland. After a little mishap at the station with Kaori's train pass, they braced themselves for the journey ahead, Tezuka's 3 year old nephew Kazuki was perhaps the one most excited, followed closely by his cousin Kaori.

After the long trip, they finally found themselves shifting to the Disney train, on the way to Disneyland itself. Besides the comfy seats, the Mickey shaped windows and Mickey shaped handrails overhead, Tezuka noted the small statues encased in glass cases situated at certain points of the train. By a stroke of luck, Tezuka found that they had sat themselves down by the statuette of Donald Duck, which happened to be his favorite character.

Upon arrival, the large group only did a number of things while they were there: go on a few rides, take pictures, have lunch, take pictures, watch the parade, get souvenirs, take pictures, watch the fireworks and take pictures before heading back to the hotel. Tezuka had his mother's digicam in hand and used it to his advantage of taking pictures of the parade and the fireworks amongst anything else.

Tezuka Kuniharu left them a little bit before the fireworks, needing to catch a flight home due to his work. Kunimitsu never really bothered counting just how many pictures they had all taken, but it was perhaps the most they've ever done, which would be something they could very well take back with them and leave the storytelling to the pictures.

Quite sure that everyone had a remarkable day – even Tezuka found himself smiling at the sights that he had seen -, they all went back the way they came, and took a well deserved rest in their hotel rooms, effectively bringing an end to their second day in Hong Kong.

'_Tomorrow will be the last day…'_ Tezuka thought to himself, in his pajamas and getting under the covers and headed off into dreamland.

----------

DAY 3:

The last day of their stay in Hong Kong brought the group to do some shopping – that involved two new black tops for Tezuka to wear, one long sleeved and one polo shirt – before having breakfast in McDonald's for the last time. For their last day, they were going to Hong Kong Island via boat to meet up with one of his mother's old officemates he and his cousin Kaori had the pleasure of meeting before (A/N: Refer to Chapter 27's first paragraph for this).

The group walked a long way along Kowloon to take the Star Ferry. A little after they arrived, they spotted who they were looking for. Tezuka later found out that his mother's officemate was leading them to a dim sum restaurant and treated them for lunch there.

They eventually spent the rest of the afternoon doing last minute shopping nearby before taking the MTR back to Kowloon. A shuttle to the airport later, they group grab something to munch on for dinner after checking in their luggage.

Tezuka spotted a little play area for kids and directed Kazuki to it, to which his nephew happily obliged. Not knowing why, Tezuka soon found himself taking the second pilot's seat to give Kazuki some company. _'And I can barely fit…'_ he complained to himself but bore with it until they eventually had to go to the gate to wait for them to board the plane.

Despite the delay of the plane, Tezuka and company arrived back home at about quarter to midnight. As soon as they landed, Tezuka turned on his phone and texted the tensai that they were back, asking if he was still awake. The bespectacled youth smiled at the tensai's reply that he was up waiting for him.

Not long after, they were lining up at customs when Tezuka decided to give the tensai a call; he wanted to hear Fuji's voice so bad, after all. They chatted for quite some time – even while Tezuka was pushing the cart along. They ended their conversation for a few minutes while Tezuka, his mother and Kaori bade their other relatives a good evening before parting ways. Tezuka moved to one side and stayed with the luggage as the other two went to retrieve their car from his father's office, which was just walking distance from the airport.

Tezuka, finding himself alone, pulled out his phone and called up Fuji a second time. This time, they chatted much longer, talking about a few things. _'To be honest, I wish we could talk like this more often…'_ Tezuka admitted to himself, not realizing he had sat down on the pavement while waiting.

Blinded momentarily by the headlights of a particular silver vehicle, he rose to his feet, ending the call with Fuji once more before helping with the bags and got into the back seat. Noticing the time, he frowned before sending a message to the tensai, suggesting that he not bother staying up any longer to wait for him to come online. _'I don't want you staying up too late… We've still got school tomorrow, after all…'_ he added as an afterthought.

Tezuka, his mother and his cousin arrived home safely as the bespectacled youth, after taking care of a few online business, moved to collapse into bed at 2 in the morning, only to wake up 3 hours later to attend school.

**TBC**


	56. Change

Change

Summary: Tezuka Kunimitsu starts showing off more change in his stoic personality. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka was smiling; more often than he would've remembered himself to be doing. It wasn't on a rare occasion, either. The once stoic youth had adapted a more jovial personality in the weeks that he had been chatting regularly with his boyfriend and Shiro-sensei. The bespectacled youth was very sure it was mostly due to the influence of the latter that he felt injected with some sort of 'happiness' drug of sorts that had him contort his face into smiles and even grins at even the slightest amusing or satisfying thing.

'_It's those smiles… It's those smiles…'_ he kept reminding himself.

Even Fuji had accepted this new side of Tezuka. If Tezuka did not express his giddiness during their daily chats, Fuji would immediately get worried.

'_I wouldn't blame him…' _Tezuka admitted with a sigh. _'He got used to it quicker than I could.'_

Tezuka had long since accepted the fact that he wouldn't be able to revert back to his old self completely. Instead, the bespectacled youth called upon his former personality and used it to his advantage when fate allowed him and his boyfriend to spend some alone time together. It came in handy whenever he wanted to take charge of a situation.

'_In the long run… I suppose this isn't too bad…' _the buchou admitted to himself. _'I could get used to it.'_

And Tezuka did indeed embrace this new personality of his.

**TBC**


	57. Almost Forever

Almost Forever

Summary: It's been more than a week since Tezuka and Fuji last saw one another. Both are dying to meet in a few days' time, but holidays have them spending time with their families. More than love, Tezuka finds himself capable of expressing other emotions as well, if just to himself. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka did not want to complain. It had been quite a while back already since he and Fuji last found time to spend together in each other's company; the last being that Wednesday afternoon in the tensai's house.

More than a week had passed since then. The pair couldn't even properly celebrate their fifth monthsary together. The day of their monthsary (April 9) was a holiday and Tezuka's family spent the afternoon visiting some churches before visiting his cousin Kuneru, his wife Saeko and their son Kazuki at their apartment and having dinner there. It wasn't how the bespectacled youth pictured spending the day. The two days prior to that Thursday were perhaps the longest of Tezuka's short summer break. Tezuka had done nothing in particular during the span of those days, lest for his little errand of paying the tuition for his summer classes that were due to begin the following week.

'_I want to see Syusuke…'_ he thought to himself with a shrug. Tezuka managed to keep positive, at the very least, when he went online every night chatting with the tensai. _'It's enough to get by… I guess…'_ he added. His nightly chats with both Fuji and Shiro-sensei – and Saeki from time to time – helped numb the depression he should have been feeling at the expense of not being able to see Fuji. Tezuka debated what there was to be depressed about. He and Fuji had long since planned the date of their next meeting, which was the upcoming Monday.

----

Friday evening. Fuji had just signed off, announcing earlier that afternoon that he needed to get up early the following day to meet a friend and watch the sunrise with them. Tezuka fought back a sigh and tried to stay positive amidst that time alone. Even Shiro-sensei was away that evening to spend the time with his family and had informed the bespectacled youth about this earlier that afternoon as well.

Tezuka had long since realized that the relationship he had shared with Shiro-sensei, from being a mentor and his apprentice, had evolved to become one comparable to a father and his son. Perhaps for the first time in a long time, the bespectacled youth had rediscovered a few things about himself when he and his mentor had begun regarding one another in such a fashion through chat.

Tezuka adjusted his glasses out of distraction, his eyes averted from the monitor of his laptop. '_You always tell me to stay positive, Shiro-sensei…'_ he thought to himself, a heavy sigh finally escaping his lips. _'In my current situation… That's close to impossible…'_

Alone in his room, Tezuka found his mind engrossed in the tensai who was so far away from him, already asleep. Tezuka hungered for Fuji. He wanted to be with his Fuji; caress him and hold him close. And this time away from the tensai – though he had endured much worse in the past - frustrated Tezuka and increased with each passing day.

'_If only time had passed much quicker… I wouldn't be feeling tormented about this whole situation… Why does it feel like I have to wait for forever to pass because I can hold you again, Syusuke? I need to see your face… And hold you in my arms again…'_

Tezuka pulled off his glasses and lied his head back, bringing one hand over his eyes. _'I will get through this…' _he told himself firmly as Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 was playing off the boy's iTunes. _'Just like the time we spent away from one another over the Christmas break… I'll get through this… And make up for our time apart… That's a promise.' _

**TBC**


	58. Worry

Worry

Summary: Close to midnight, Tezuka finds himself very much awake and in deep contemplation on the past few days during his chats with Fuji. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Two minutes to midnight. Three hours prior, Tezuka and Fuji had said their goodbyes as the tensai prepared to log off for the evening, much earlier than usual. With a heavy heart, Tezuka reassured his lover that he would be alright for the rest of the evening alone before Fuji signed off.

If Tezuka was being honest, he absolutely dreaded nights like these; when he would have nobody else to chat with. Over time, he had developed a comfort zone with himself in the evening while he was in front of his laptop chatting with two people: his beloved Syusuke and his mentor Shiro-sensei.

The past few days – and not to mention a few weeks back – were taking its toll on Tezuka. The past few days, he came to find out that his beloved was being bothered by some people over chat. One person to note that had contacted Tezuka as well was one Kamei Haruteru, an upperclassman of Fuji's in Seishun, but was taking a different course.

What surprised Tezuka was that Kamei had inadvertently confessed to him his feelings of adornment. Naturally, Tezuka had declined and was not interested in pursuing any other relationship other than what he was already in with the tensai. Kamei, however, was relentless.

After confronting Kamei through chat and having not heard from him for nearly a week, Tezuka hoped that the case would be put to rest and that he and Fuji did not have to put up with any more of his wild fantasies.

The nightmare returned on the evening of their fifth monthsary. Tezuka's heart skipped a beat when he saw two people online – Kamei and Takahiro. He asked Fuji if they were bothering him, and the tensai replied with an affirmative response. In a desperate attempt to try and share the burden, Tezuka asked Fuji if he needed any help with the problem, but was met only with declines through and through.

Tezuka groaned, clenching his hands into tights fists, restraining himself from punching at the wall beside him. "I offer my help time and time again, Syusuke… And yet every single time, you deny me…" he said to himself bitterly as he silently pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Syusuke, you idiot… Don't you know I worry so much about you?"

'_I know you're capable of handling your own… But why is it at the expense of shunning me away when I'm more than willing to share your burdens with you?' _Tezuka paused as he felt a single tear trail down his cheek. _'I wish I could do more for you, Syusuke… I wish you would talk to me and allow me to help you… I don't want to stay idle and do nothing… I… want to be of more use to you…' _Another tear started to fall.

'_If only you'd let me…'_

**TBC**

**--**

A/N: I head meant to write something like this for a while now, but what drove me to do it now was in my re-reading Chapter 2 of TYDK. You'll notice that the gist of the message of this particular chapter and that are similar.


	59. Easter Night

Easter Night

Summary: A snippet of what Tezuka experienced on the night of Easter Sunday. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka's family spent Easter Sunday quite jovially as far back as the bespectacled youth cared to remember. The annual egg hunt among him and his numerous cousins brought forth just a hint of bitter beginnings, having to spend it one family short. Tezuka's cousin-in-law Saeko had invited her side of the family for the event, bringing along a number of their children – little Kazuki's cousins – to join the egg hunt.

When the hunting was done and over with and everybody had enjoyed themselves to dinner, Tezuka found himself in the game room with his cousins Kuneru and Ikari playing some games on the Wii (Bowling and Training, to be exact).

After a while, the buchou excused himself and brought his bag of accumulated candy and prizes upstairs to his room and powered up his laptop in the process. It was around 9 when he last checked and signed onto his messenger and hoped that Fuji was online. To his dismay, his lover wasn't. He kept the device on and returned downstairs and joined a number of his relatives at the living room.

Quite unsure why, but Tezuka found himself holding his Aunt Hinata's phone, having his mother, his cousin Kuneru and his nephew Kazuki record something that his aunt wanted to use as a ringtone. After successfully recording his mother's message and assigning it, Tezuka held the phone steady to his cousin's mouth as he recited a semi-monotonous dialogue reminiscent of another ringtone from the movie 'Bedtime Stories'. This effectively caused everyone gathered – including Kazuki – to burst out in laughter after it was done recording.

As Tezuka played it back for everyone to hear – upon Kazuki's request – the tennis player lost his balance and fell back in laughter, his nephew following his example and fell back onto the floor as well.

"Kazuki, what are you doing?" His father asked him.

Tezuka got his balance back, crouching as he tinkered with his aunt's phone. It wasn't long before Kazuki approached him, leaning onto Tezuka from the side.

"Uncle Mitsu, I want to hear it again," he said happily. "Then we can fall down together."

This statement from the 3 year old caused everybody to laugh once more.

Tezuka, after regaining his composure, got back to work and had recorded Kazuki's voice that his aunt would be using in place of his mother. It took three tries before he got the phrase right. Tezuka was busy moving files around in the phone before Kazuki jumped him from behind, clinging onto his neck.

"Kazuki, be mindful of your uncle Kunimitsu's back," Aunt Hinata chimed in worriedly.

Tezuka, after reconfiguring his aunt's phone, returned it to its rightful owner before escorting his relatives outside to their cars. Once he had finished exchanging goodbyes with everybody, Tezuka practically dashed into the house and moved upstairs to his room… only to find one chat window awaiting him. It was Shiro-sensei. Tezuka smirked when he read the messages before his eyes shifted to the messenger list to find that even Fuji was now online. He double-clicked on the tensai's name and quickly typed up a message. And so Tezuka spent the next hour in conversation with the two, only to succumb to sleep and bid his farewells at quarter to midnight.

**TBC**


	60. Recording Session

Recording Session

Summary: Tezuka records a Disney song by request of a few forum members. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka had sat himself down and turned the electric fan to '2' as he powered up his laptop and pulled off his shoes and socks. Beads of sweat were trickling down both sides of his face after his commute from the mall earlier that afternoon. He had just parted from some of his blockmates; one of which had treated them to lunch to celebrate her birthday the following day.

As Tezuka typed in his password, he sat down on his swivel chair and leaned back, trying to even his breathing. When that was settled and he had sufficiently wiped away the accumulated sweat on his forehead with a face towel, he opened up a browser and the messenger, looking to see if Fuji was online.

It was always the bespectacled youth's routine to check the forum he and the tensai frequented as one of the few sites he would check. Once his messenger had signed him in, he saw Fuji's name and double-clicked on it and announced that he was finally home.

While browsing through the forum, he blinked at a particular thread before deciding to continue with the idea. _'It wouldn't hurt…'_ he thought to himself as he began browsing the internet for the things he needed. At around this time, Fuji had announced that he would be back as he needed to make dinner for his family.

Tezuka nodded to himself, noting that it was the perfect chance to do his little project.

Tezuka wheeled around and grabbed his microphone headset from another table and plugged the jacks into their appropriate slots on his laptop and opened his recording program and imported the necessary audio. He was tasked to record Shang's part of **'I'll Make a Man Out of You' **from the Disney movie Mulan.

He found himself needing to record it twice, mostly because his timing was off at some parts. When all was done, he listened back to it and edited as much as he could until he deemed in presentable. Uploading it to the net, he returned to the forum and provided the link.

--

When Fuji had returned online, Tezuka directed his boyfriend to his finished product. Tezuka, in all honesty, did not expect the tensai to react in such a manner: speechless only to emit such love for such a fandub. Tezuka later discovered that Fuji deemed Shang as his favorite character from the Disney movie – and Tezuka had rendered him even more speechless when he shared that he felt the same way towards said character.

'_It looks like this little recording session turned out quite successful with the way Syusuke's reacted to it…' _Tezuka thought to himself before leaning back on his seat before trying to converse with his boyfriend, asking for suggestions for more possible songs. _'How many times have I made a song fandub of these kinds of things?' _And so Tezuka made a list for future recording sessions.

**TBC**


	61. Hooked On

Hooked On

Summary: After successfully recording 'I'll Make a Man Out of You', Tezuka decides to begin recording a few other songs for his boyfriend to enjoy. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

Note: The conversations this time around have been altered slightly. You wouldn't understand it if I provided you with the ACTUAL conversations. But the gist of it all is the same.

------

It was no doubt that once Tezuka had uploaded his part of the song on the forum, the rest of the group took it and completed the fandub in the span of two days. With this kind of progress, they wanted to record another song from the same movie. This time around, it was **'A Girl Worth Fighting For'**. Tezuka was assigned the role of Gao – the short man with the scratchy voice – for the song.

Before Tezuka had decided to get to work on his part for that song, he browsed his small list of songs that he and Fuji had discussed. The list was a mix of Disney songs and other songs that his boyfriend had wanted him to sing. Tezuka had spent a few hours searching online for karaoke or instrumental versions of the songs that he could use.

Wednesday marked Tezuka's first day of summer classes. His schedule ate up his early morning until early into the afternoon. His three classes each spanned an hour and a half starting at 7:30 in the morning and ended at 1:30 in the afternoon with a break from 9-10:30am. Tezuka hitched with his mother who went to work and left the house early so Tezuka would be in school by 6 in the morning.

Tezuka's three classes: Psychology, Spanish and Japanese Literature – a higher course than what he was taking last semester – had their orientations and immediate homework for the following day. Tezuka went home for a late lunch that afternoon before sitting in front of his laptop and decided to record something.

The song he had chosen to record was **'Go the Distance'** from Hercules. The boy had sworn he had trouble with the timing the first time around and had many takes in recording a part before he finally came up with a good output to upload. That evening, he had sent it to his boyfriend to listen to and received pretty much the same reaction, if not stronger.

The following day, Tezuka decided to have lunch away from home and invited Fuji to eat with him at one of the nearby food establishments. He smiled to himself when he had received an affirmative response from the tensai that he would come. Tezuka got through his three classes with a grumbling stomach. Pretty soon, he would realize how inappropriate it was to have two consecutive classes that overlapped his usual lunch time. _'Then again, a couple of my blockmates don't have any breaks in between their classes…'_ he reasoned with himself before he shrugged.

Tezuka was released from his Japanese Literature class earlier than he expected before he informed Fuji that he was out. He chuckled when the tensai had told him that he wasn't dressed to leave yet. Tezuka understood this because the meeting time he had originally mentioned was still 30 minutes away. It was plenty of time for the tensai to commute from home to meet with him. Tezuka decided to visit Seishun High to drop something off for one of his former teachers there.

Finally meeting with Fuji, they made their way to McDonald's and sat themselves down to a late lunch at around 2:30 in the afternoon. The two were eagerly talking about a number of things. When they had both consumed their lunches – particularly after Tezuka had finished his second sundae – Tezuka took out his iPod and sat beside Fuji so they could browse his playlist to find some good songs that Fuji might want to hear him cover.

When **'Can't Wait to Be King' **from The Lion King started to play, Fuji turned to Tezuka and cuddled his arm.

"Simba~" Fuji intoned affectionately.

Tezuka turned to Fuji and blinked, pushing his glasses up. "What?"

"I want to hear you sing this, Mitsu," Fuji requested, smiling sweetly towards the bespectacled youth.

Tezuka returned the smile with his own, nodding. "I'll see what I can do."

The pair stayed in the food establishment until 4 in the afternoon, listening to a number of other songs available on Tezuka's iPod until Yumiko had picked her little brother up and Tezuka left to take the buses home.

As soon as Tezuka arrived home, he powered up his laptop, turned on the electric fan and sank onto the swivel chair and took some time searching through some sites to look for what he needed. That evening, he had decided to heed Fuji's request at singing that song, plus a few others. By the end of that night, he had finished recording three songs and sent these to the tensai, who was only too eager to listen and 'fangirl' over them. The image of floating hearts filling the room was used to describe Fuji's surroundings.

Tezuka smirked. _'If singing these songs makes you happy, Syusuke… I'm just happy to oblige and make you happy… I do them because I love you…'_

After coming home from his two classes that Friday afternoon – he didn't have any Psychology class that day – to feast on some leftover pizza his cousin Kaoru and his girlfriend had brought home last night, Tezuka retreated to his bedroom. He wanted to relax for the rest of the afternoon and later on went to get down recording his part on that other Mulan song for the forum. When that was done, he went on to record two more songs before calling it a night. He sent the songs as was his routine with the completed fandubs to his boyfriend to listen to.

Sometime that evening, Tezuka noticed that he had finished downloading a particular instrumental that he would be recording soon when he recalled a previous conversation with Fuji online about the songs he could sing.

_**SYUSUKE: Doing 'Crash and Burn' would be nice, Mitsu. It's something I'm sure Shiro-sensei will appreciate as much as I will.  
KUNIMITSU: *chuckles* You're right. I'll add that to my list, then.  
SYUSUKE: 'I'm Yours' would be another one.  
KUNIMITSU: What's with the sudden mention of English theme songs?  
KUNIMITSU: But I'll add that to my list as well.  
SYUSUKE: Maybe I can try to do 'I'm Yours' as well…  
KUNIMITSU: Your call, love. Your call.**_

'_These next two songs will be a little difficult…' _Tezuka admitted to himself. _'But I'm looking forward to the outcome of it all tomorrow.' _Tezuka had saved everything he would need and shut down his laptop. It was past midnight and he took the time while he was still awake to finish that long overdue book (A/N: Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox) that he had gotten last Christmas. He spent an hour with his eyes fixed on the book, turning pages until he finally finished it. Tezuka got out of bed and slipped the book back into its rightful place on one of his shelves before finally settling in bed.

Tezuka woke up an hour after his phone alarm went off that Saturday morning. Rubbing his eyes and turning to the wall clock above his door confirmed that when it read 11am. The boy got out of bed and went to grab a shower before deciding to record the two songs. Tezuka took a break for lunch while he was in the middle of recording _**'Crash and Burn'**_. When he returned to his room, he finished his work and soon got started with _**'I'm Yours'**_. He finished when it was about 3 in the afternoon and sat back on his swivel chair, feeling uniquely accomplished.

'_I'm slowly checking off the songs I've been writing down on that list…' _he thought to himself as he went to upload the two songs online. His lips curled into a small smile as he glanced at his monitor. "I wonder what reaction I'll be getting this time around?" And so Tezuka waited for night to arrive.

**TBC**

**--**

Note: Last songs mentioned are CrashAnd Burn by Savage Garden, and I'm Yours by Jason Mraz


	62. Left Behind

Left Behind

Summary: Sometimes it's better to let things take their course, however unpleasant they end up being. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka had invited Fuji to his house. It was early in the afternoon and the pair spent the time leisurely doing a number of random things. Whether it was a game of darts or chasing one another through the house – Tezuka didn't understand why this was even considered fun -, they spent the first few hours of the afternoon together.

As the sun began to set and evening approached, Tezuka left his lover for a few minutes to go downstairs, only to find a number of his relatives scattered around the living room or dining room, chatting eagerly with one another. Tezuka was rather disoriented with the sudden company as one of his uncles had spotted him and called him over.

Tezuka took a few minutes going around greeting his relatives individually, entertaining a few questions before excusing himself and returning upstairs to where he knew Fuji was waiting. The boy paused at the doorway to his room to find that the tensai was gone. A deep frown surfaced on the bespectacled youth's features. His eyes shifted to his open laptop, furrowing his brows in contemplation. Tezuka wondered for a moment where Fuji had gone to before he heard his father calling him down for dinner. Tezuka sighed. He moved out of his room and moodily returned downstairs.

Tezuka sat down to dinner in silence. He knew it wasn't the first time he had invited Fuji to his house with his relatives. He remembered his birthday celebration; at that time, Tezuka had kept the relationship he had with the tensai a secret, except from his parents. Now that more of his family and relatives knew of his relationship with the boy, Tezuka had more confidence to introduce him to them all properly.

When Tezuka managed to get away from the crowd after dinner, he retreated upstairs to his room where his eyes shifted to his laptop. Tezuka slowly approached it as he noticed a blinking chat window that belonged to the tensai. Fuji had left a number of messages as Tezuka slowly read each one.

**SYUSUKE: Sorry I couldn't stay, Kunimitsu.  
SYUSUKE: Nee-san came early to pick me up.  
SYUSUKE: You were too busy with your relatives I couldn't properly say my goodbyes.  
SYUSUKE: I told your mother that I was leaving, and she understood and said that she would tell you.  
SYUSUKE: But anyway, I found that video your cousin referred me to before I left. It made me laugh. ^______^v Thank him for me, would you?**

Tezuka heaved a huge sigh, muttering that his mother didn't bother telling him anything of the sort about his lover's departure. The bespectacled youth found himself staring at the link that Fuji had forwarded…

_And before he knew it, Tezuka woke up._

---

Tezuka sat up abruptly, panting. It was still dark, but the little light coming through his window told him that it was early into the morning. The boy tried to calm himself down and slowly evened his breathing.

"A dream…" he told himself. "It was… just a dream…"

Tezuka slowly brought a quaking hand to his head to steady himself. "Why did…" He shook his head lightly before resting his head back down on the pillow, closing his eyes. "I hate it when I have these kinds of dreams…" he muttered to himself.

**TBC**


	63. Half a Year

Half a Year

Summary: After much up and down in their relationship, Tezuka and Fuji find time to spend their 6th monthsary and so much more. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

Note: I humbly apologize for the lack of updates since the last chapter. I've been attending summer classes and I have found it difficult to compose a suitable chapter before this. I will probably be writing some flashback chapters soon, so stay tuned for that. And in itself, this chapter is long overdue. ^__^;;

------

Tezuka woke up that Saturday morning, very much aware of what the rest of the day held for him and his lover. Today, there were celebrating 6 long months of their relationships; half a year had passed since that November evening when they had both confessed to one another.

He and Fuji had finalized their plans the night before through their usual manner of online chatting. Tezuka had been the one who ended up deciding where they were going to have lunch – at a pizza restaurant (A/N: Pizza Hut) across Tezuka's university.

When the bespectacled youth had showered and dressed for the day, his mother had suggested on taking him to meet with the tensai and quickly got ready. While waiting, Tezuka thought back on the conversation he had with Fuji the night before considering the other agenda they would be doing later that day.

'_Tomorrow's Mother's Day… I'll have to find something I can give mother for tomorrow… besides the usual Hallmark cards I can easily purchase…' _Tezuka thought to himself. The youth was shaken from his thoughts as his mother emerged from her dressing room, announcing that she would just get something to eat for breakfast before taking him. Tezuka took a bag and watched some television for a few minutes before heading downstairs to find that his mother was ready to leave.

As the youth and his mother were halted by much traffic, Tezuka found himself running almost 30 minutes late past their expected meeting time. With so much to complain about – whether it was the poor traffic flow at some points or the inconsiderate drivers on the road, he didn't really care – Tezuka entered the bookstore after bidding his mother a farewell. He took a look around as his shifted his eyes momentarily to the second floor landing and spotted who he was looking for – hair of color honey sitting down at one of the few available chairs, his back to everyone as he was probably reading up on something about animals, Tezuka guessed.

After promptly adjusting his glasses and discerning which path was easier to take, Tezuka moved forward and ascended the stairs further away from him and approached the tensai, smiling over to him and immediately bending over and wrapped his arms around the smaller youth before promptly kissing him on the forehead before finally straightening up.

Allowing Fuji Syusuke to rise to his feet and shortly complaining about how late the taller boy was, Tezuka scoffed and quickly blamed his tardiness on the traffic, to which the tensai merely rolled his eyes and chuckled before moving to return the book he was reading – about lovebirds- to its proper shelf.

Both youths, after much random chatter from not seeing each other for an extended period of time, the pair finally left the bookstore and started to head off to their destination for lunch by foot. Entering the restaurant, they took a seat across one another at the couches and Tezuka found himself in charge of ordering the pizza. After the order was made, Tezuka held out his hand.

Fuji raised an eyebrow. "Now?" he inquired.

Tezuka nodded. "I just want to see her."

Fuji smiled and nodded, pulling a yellow plastic from his bag and held it out to Tezuka, who in turn pulled out what was inside – a white rabbit stuffed animal they had agreed to call Kean. Fuji had finally been able to purchase it after setting an eye on it for quite some time.

A smile was evident on the boy's lips ay he examined the stuffed animal with as much as keen interest as he would any other stuffed animal he would receive and subconsciously stroked the soft fur.

In the background, Tezuka could tell that Fuji was highly amused at this sight, but the bespectacled youth didn't really bother himself with such things. After some time, Tezuka had placed Kean back into the plastic and deposited into his practically empty bag. While still waiting for their pizza to arrive, Tezuka had slid out from his chair and asked Fuji to move over so that they could sit beside one another, placing his bag near the tensai's.

"Happy monthsary, Syusuke…" Tezuka muttered to the other boy before they exchanged a brief kiss on the lips promptly before their drinks arrived. The pair returned to random chatter about many things from not having seen each other for a long time. Sometimes such conversation sped things up as their pizza arrived not long after for them to feast upon.

After fussing over the hot sauce – to which Tezuka immediately declined as Fuji teased to put some on the boy's pizza – the two ate their corresponding number of slices while continuing to talk about things in between, including their plans for the rest of the day and how things were with certain people that they've been in constant touch with.

When they were stuffed and ready to leave, they asked for the bill as Tezuka scanned it and smiled, turning to Fuji as he was reaching into his bag for his wallet. "I'll take care of it," Tezuka announced, pulling out his own from his jeans pocket.

"Are you sure?" the tensai inquired with a slight frown.

Tezuka flipped open his wallet, pulled out a few bills of money and handed it over to the waiter. "I'm sure," he replied almost nonchalantly. "You can take care of the movie tickets if you want to," the bespectacled boy added, causing Fuji to smile widely and immediately agreed to this.

When Tezuka received his change, both took turns to head over to the restroom before finally they headed on their way to the train station to head to the usual mall they frequented. As soon as they arrived, they passed the movie posters that depicted what was showing and quickly decided on one (A/N: 17 Again, latest movie starring Zac Efron). Navigating them to the top floor to purchase their tickets for the most convenient show time of the movie, the former captain allowed the tensai to choose their seats and pay for the tickets himself.

When that was done and over with, the couple spent the remaining time doing their usual past time – hanging out in the arcade. Whether it was a game of air hockey – that ended in a tie for once due to carelessness of one or the other -, racing – with Tezuka complaining about the uncooperative steering wheel he had-, Dance Dance Revolution or even the Super Trivia game, the pair went at it together.

Fuji, seeing that the console for Tekken 6 was free, pulled Tezuka to sit in the other seat and playfully challenged him to a fight. Tezuka, after much protest that he wasn't all that good and rarely played this game in the arcade, caved in and swiped the card twice before the game started.

The result was quite unexpected from both sides. Tezuka, who was button-mashing throughout most of the fight, had won against Fuji who actually knew what he was doing with the controls. The tensai looked over to the former Seigaku captain in pure disbelief.

"And you say you haven't been playing this at all, Kunimitsu?" he asked incredibly as Tezuka started fighting against the computer.

Tezuka nodded, his eyes fixed on the screen as he sloppily began randomly pressing on the buttons and navigated the movement of his character with the joystick. "I told you, I don't really play this game in the arcade. I'm being random and press whatever button I can. I'm just lucky if my button-mashing results in an attack," he admitted sheepishly.

Tezuka wasn't sure how Fuji had reacted to that but he had lost in the second round – ironically the character Fuji had chosen. When that was done, both checked their watches and declared that they still had some time to do one last thing before entering the movie house: karaoke.

They went down a floor to the other arcade and found it practically empty and moved into one of the two booths and closed the door behind them. They sat themselves down as Tezuka took the thick songbook and browsed through it. Tezuka pulled Kean out from his bag and handed her to Fuji as he coded in his first song: _**Affirmation**_ (by Savage Garden).

The other three songs, Tezuka realized, were all songs sung by him – whether it was because Fuji really couldn't find a song to sing or that he was just pretending to coax Tezuka to sing more. So Tezuka ended up choosing _**Wonderwall **_(by Oasis), _**Message in a Bottle **_(by the Police) and _**Eye of the Tiger **_(by Survivor).

After the bespectacled youth's final song, they checked their watches and saw that they were going to be late and packed up, rushing upstairs to the movie house. They made it a few minutes into the start of the movie and quickly located their seats.

When the movie was done and over with, the pair headed downstairs via the escalator as Tezuka pulled out his phone, receiving a text from his mother.

_**Just let me know when you're boarding the train back, Kunimitsu. I'll leave the house at about the same time to come pick you up.**_

Fuji, who noticed this, frowned. "Are you going home already?" he asked; a hint of sadness evident in his voice.

Tezuka's eyes were on the screen before turning to Fuji. "Not really. It really depends. Why?"

"I told my family I'd be heading back at around 6 this evening…"

Tezuka blinked. "We still have things to purchase for our mothers, don't we?" he pointed out with a small smile. "I won't be going anywhere just yet."

Fuji nodded before Tezuka led him to Dairy Queen, where Tezuka indulged himself in some ice cream – not after offering Fuji to get some as well – before they sat themselves down at a table. The tensai excused himself to go to the bathroom, leaving Tezuka to his ice cream.

'_It wouldn't hurt to stay a little longer…'_ Tezuka thought as he pulled out his phone and sent a message to his mother, asking that she pick him up later tonight in the bookstore so that he could keep Fuji company until he had to head home. _'It IS our monthsary, after all, Syusuke…'_ he added to himself. After a few minutes, he received a reply from his mother.

_**Ok. I'll be purchasing a few things in the store, anyway.**_

Tezuka gave off a smile to himself as he kept his phone and returned to savoring his ice cream as the tensai returned. After a moment of silence between the two, Tezuka stabbed his ice cream with his plastic spoon before speaking.

"I asked my mom to get me at about 6 at the book store."

Fuji's eyes cracked open at this news. "What?"

Tezuka looked up at his lover and smiled sheepishly. "My mom's picking me up at 6. So I can stay with you until then."

Fuji smiled and shook his head, unable to counter whatever Tezuka had just divulged. After Tezuka had finished his ice cream, he bought himself some bottled water before the pair headed down another floor so that they could hunt down some chocolate that Tezuka was planning to purchase for his mother (A/N: Ferrero Rocher to those who are curious). Searching through a drugstore the former captain knew to have formerly supply it, it was Fuji who had spotted them in one of the shelves. Tezuka bent down and pulled out two small boxes of five pieces and checked the price before looking over to Fuji. "Do you think I should get one for your mother as well, Syusuke?" he inquired suddenly as he straightened up.

The tensai shook his head. "Even if you did, she'd hand it to me to finish anyway," he admitted with a smile. "She doesn't really like them."

Tezuka nodded, placing one of the two boxes back in the shelf. "Very well, then. I'll get one for my own mother, then," he announced before moving up to the counter to purchase it.

The pair soon headed back via train where they went to a certain doughnut shop so that Fuji could have an afternoon snack. After that, the pair returned to the place of their meeting earlier that day – at the book store. They took this time to search through the Hallmark cards for something to give to their mothers.

"I find it ironic that there are more Father's Day cards than there are Mother's Day cards," Tezuka pointed out as he scanned the entire shelf. "Father's Day isn't for another month."

Fuji shrugged his shoulders as he pulled out a particular Father's Day card and read it. "This one's interesting, though," he pointed out.

Tezuka read the message and agreed as the pair took some time looking through some other Father's Day cards. It wasn't until Fuji had handed him a particular Father's Day card did Tezuka read its message, causing him to look over to the tensai who merely smiled as he moved past his boyfriend to look at the Mother's Day cards.

The bespectacled boy stared back down at the card he had in his hands and slowly reread the message printed on it. _'Father's Day… I wonder if…'_ His thoughts trailed off before he softly shook his head and joined Fuji in looking for a Mother's Day card, the other card still in hand.

After a few minutes of browsing through potential cards, Tezuka had finally found a suitable card to give to his mother, the message of which was exactly what he wanted to tell his mother. After showing it to Fuji, Tezuka directed him to the same card that the tensai eventually decided to get as well. After this, the pair purchased the cards and spent the rest of their time browsing through some books. Tezuka pulled out his phone and sent his mother a message and told him that it was alright for her to come and make her way over now that he was waiting there in the book store.

Both Tezuka and Fuji were browsing through a particular search book (A/N: A Pokemon book, actually) until Tezuka's phone vibrated inside his jeans pocket. He pulled it out and found his mother to be calling. He answered the call and led Fuji down the store to locate his mother while talking with her on the phone. As soon as they saw her, he put down the phone and greeted her.

Fuji offered his greetings before looking at the time. "Kunimitsu, I need to get going," he announced.

Tezuka turned to the tensai. "Will you be alright on the way back?" he inquired, furrowing his brows.

Fuji nodded in reassurance. "I'll be fine, Mitsu. Don't worry. It's not as though this is the first time."

Tezuka nodded. "Very well, then." The bespectacled youth gave the tensai a quick kiss on the cheek. "Have a safe trip home, Syusuke."

Fuji smiled. "Hai." He turned to Tezuka's mother and bid his farewell before leaving the mother and son.

Tezuka watched his boyfriend leave before moving to accompany his mother and found himself a few things to purchase as well while they were there. It wasn't long before Tezuka and his mother got into their car and headed home.

'_Today was great, Syusuke… I'm glad I managed to spend it with you…'_

**TBC**


	64. Flashback: Tezuka's Adventure

Flashback - Tezuka's Little Adventure

Summary: Noticing how down and depressed his boyfriend is, Tezuka decides to take a trip one afternoon to commute to the tensai's house. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

Note: Apparently a flashback chapter with concerns to how things are doing now. I will probably write a decent chapter on a few things once finals are over.

------

It wasn't a difficult task for most anybody to notice how depressed Fuji Syusuke was those past few days. The tensai took it upon himself not to come online due to some conflicts with regards to family. Tezuka sympathized with Fuji and only hoped that he would generally feel a little better about things. The former Seigaku captain hated the fact that he couldn't do anything to return that smile that often graced the tensai's features.

One evening when Fuji wasn't online, Tezuka was chatting with Shiro-sensei, who also noticed that Fuji was feeling under the weather as well. It wasn't long before the educator had given the bespectacled youth the suggestion of making the commute to the tensai's house just to make him feel better.

'_In all honesty, I had every intention of going to visit their residence for the longest time… I was just finding it difficult to find the appropriate time to do so…'_ Tezuka admitted to himself as he adjusted his glasses.

From there, the pair had begun making preparations for Tezuka's trip to Fuji's house. The first step was to inform someone from the Fuji household of his trip to make sure that Syusuke would be in the house when he arrived. For that, Tezuka had turned to Fuji's older sister Yumiko, who was more than happy to keep it a secret for him.

The next step went with how Tezuka was actually going to get there. He had gone to Fuji's place a few times with the tensai but never had he done so on his own. _'I previously asked Syusuke how I could get to his place, anyway, so I generally have a way to get there…' _Tezuka thought to himself.

After Shiro-sensei had offered to give him more detailed directions on how to get to the tensai's place, they ended the evening with Tezuka heading to bed early to get ready for the day that followed.

----

After Tezuka's Japanese Literature class, he stopped by the doughnut shop he and Fuji frequented and bought a couple of doughnuts that Fuji often purchased when they were there. _'This would make a fair gift for the time being…'_ Tezuka thought to himself as he stuffed it into his backpack before heading off to start his long journey to the tensai's house.

It took a lot of walking and taking a few public transportations, but it wasn't long before Tezuka arrived at the gate of the Fuji residence, where he noticed the boy's mother outside tending to the garden.

"Is Syusuke home?" Tezuka inquired.

Fuji's mother approached the gate and examined the tall youth for a moment before smiling. "Yes, hold on," she turned to the house. "Syusuke! Someone's here to see you!"

The tensai came out of the house and had a look of total shock as he slowly approached the gate to let Tezuka in.

"Should I even inquire...?" Fuji managed to ask as he stepped aside.

Tezuka merely smiled and shook his head, walking past Fuji past the gate and bowed once more to the boy's mother before following Fuji inside.

Once in the living room, Tezuka bid greeting to Fuji's sister Yumiko, who was watching a movie on TV (A/N: Hairspray). Fuji slumped down onto one of the couches and patted the empty space beside him, urging Tezuka to sit down to which the tall youth did so. Tezuka had pulled out the doughnuts and offered them to Fuji, to which the tensai grinned and opened the bag to peek inside.

"I'll put this in the fridge. Excuse me," he announced, getting up and heading to the kitchen.

Tezuka looked around for a moment before Fuji rejoined them as they watched the rest of the movie with Yumiko before they had themselves an afternoon snack – Yumiko had told Syusuke to order some pizza – before the couple headed downstairs to the guest bedroom.

"So I assume you had Yumiko-neesan involved?" Fuji asked as soon as Tezuka closed the door behind him.

"Partially," Tezuka replied with a shrug.

"So was it _your _idea, Mitsu?"

"Partially as well."

Fuji frowned. "So somebody else suggested it?"

Tezuka nodded.

"And would I know who that would be?"

"Of course you do," Tezuka replied, looking over to Fuji. "I wasn't the only one who was worried about you, you know."

"Shiro-sensei…" Fuji said in a short mutter, shaking his head.

"I had every intention of coming over, Syusuke. He just happened to suggest that today would be the best day for me to do so. To cheer you up," Tezuka explained.

"Is that so…"

Tezuka wrapped his arms around Fuji. "I missed you," he muttered into the boy's hair.

Fuji returned the embrace with his own. "I missed you, too."

Tezuka pulled back and held the tensai at arm's length, "You haven't been coming online."

"I was planning to come online tonight…" The tensai reasoned.

Tezuka examined Fuji for a few moments, searching those celestial eyes before nodding. "I still wished you told me what was going on so I didn't have to worry so much…"

"I'm sorry, Kunimitsu…"

Tezuka pulled Fuji close again and kissed him on the forehead. "Forget it, Syusuke…"

After talking about a few things, Fuji had asked Tezuka if he wanted to accompany him to his final day of driving school he had scheduled at 6 in the evening. Contemplating on it for the moment, Tezuka reached out for his phone – that he had set aside – and typed up a message he sent to his mother, informing him of his intention that evening and asked to be picked up.

"_**Hello?"**_

"Hello, mother… Did you receive my message?"

"_**I was just going to reply to it, actually. But our meeting over here suddenly began so I didn't get the time to do so until now."**_

"I see. So what time will you be leaving the office tonight?"

"_**Perhaps around 7 o'clock. I'll be waiting for your cousin Kaoru as well before we head off to pick you up, Kunimitsu."**_

"Very well. Thank you, mother."

"_**Alright then, we'll see you later, dear."**_

Tezuka replied with an affirmative before he hung up.

----

As was the bespectacled youth's routine in the afternoon to take a nap after an exhausting day of school and commuting, Tezuka pulled out his glasses and set them aside for announcing that he would be taking a little nap, to which Fuji more than insisted, seeing the distant gaze in the former captain's eyes.

After being allowed an hour of rest, Fuji's phone alarm went off and after a few sessions of snoozing it, they finally got up and started to get ready to leave for Fuji's last driving lessons. Tezuka went to observe the lovebirds while Fuji got ready to leave, smiling to himself at the four winged creatures.

It didn't take long before the couple announced their leave and made their way to the place where Fuji was taking lessons. At about 6 on the dot, the tensai's instructor arrived and the three of them headed out to the parking lot and into the designated car. Tezuka slid into the backseat as Fuji got in the driver's seat, his instructor in the front passenger seat.

'_It'd be interesting to find out just how much Syusuke's learned up until today…'_ Tezuka thought to himself as he felt the car move, directed by Fuji's handling of the steering wheel and use of the pedals. _'Then again… He's learning how to steer a manual…'_ Tezuka added as an afterthought and a smug chuckle to himself.

Tezuka would admit that Fuji was an adequate driver with the way he was handling the situation – never mind the fact that his instructor that evening was overly cautious and didn't allow the tensai to go past a certain speed limit even when there was hardly any traffic.

'_I can't make an accurate evaluation after one day, though…_' the bespectacled youth admitted to himself.

It wasn't long before Tezuka and Fuji found themselves saying their goodbyes amidst the busy streets where traffic was abundant and the sun had long since set. As Tezuka boarded a bus to head to the ever-familiar street of their universities, Tezuka pulled out a few coins from his pocket with a small smile on his face. _'It won't be too long until I start learning how to drive as well…' _Nobody but Tezuka would understand that he had eagerly wanted his summer classes to end then and there so that he could start taking driving lessons before regular classes were set to begin.

**TBC**


	65. On Helping

On Helping

Summary: Tezuka and Fuji celebrate their 7th monthsary a day early, and end up helping Yumiko-neesan with a few things. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.

------

Tezuka bid his parents farewell as he got down from the van and started to ascend the steps of the familiar blue bridge to head to his school to pay for his tuition for the upcoming semester. Tezuka's parents were going on an overnight trip out of town to celebrate their wedding anniversary the following day. The bespectacled youth walked under the blazing sun and made his way to the appropriate building of his university where the cashier was located and fell in line to pay for the tuition.

He and Fuji had made plans to see each other for lunch that day to make up for missing out on celebrating their seventh month together the following day for two reasons: that Fuji already had classes, and that Tezuka's family was planning to eat out that evening to celebrate his parents' wedding anniversary.

Once Tezuka was done and received the receipt, he started making his way to Seishun by use of the short-cut from his university. As he was walking, he received a message from the tensai, informing him that he was finished with what he needed to do. Tezuka replied and told Fuji that he was already on his way over.

After about 15 minutes of walking, Tezuka finally arrived and saw Fuji seated on one of the benches texting somebody. Tezuka, having spotted an empty space in the opposite bench beside the tensai, sat himself down. The two broke into light conversation on a few things before deciding where to eat.

The pair soon got to their feet and headed off to their destination. The Japanese restaurant they frequented was where Fuji decided they go to, and Tezuka was not one to complain. Their order of what to eat, however, changed. Instead of ordering sushi – where Fuji would no doubt be more than looking forward to having himself some wasabi to go with it – Tezuka ordered them an extra order of Ebi Tempura instead.

"It'll be a nice change _not _to have sushi once in a while, Syusuke," Tezuka pointed out as he handed the menus to the waitress after she had taken their orders.

Fuji pouted but agreed.

Tezuka sighed but decided not to say anything more as he changed topics to talk about something else before their food arrived so they could eat. After splitting the bill, the pair went to the book store, but not before being caught in some moderate rainfall. Both Tezuka and Fuji stayed inside while waiting for the rain to settle, giving Tezuka the opportunity to purchase a few writing materials.

When the rain cleared, Tezuka and Fuji made their way to try and get a car sticker for Tezuka's mother's car, only to find the staff still on lunch break. While pondering what to do, the tennis player noticed a new application form and decided to just come back another time and settle things then.

Now with nothing to do, the pair debated a bit on where they would spend the rest of their time while waiting for Fuji's older sister Yumiko to get off work. Eventually coming to terms that they would find something to preoccupy their time, the pair headed off to the preschool where Yumiko-neesan was working at.

---

Upon arriving, Yumiko came to the entrance and escorted the two to the reception area where they could sit down and relax.

"Are you sure there isn't anything you need help with, neesan?" Syusuke inquired with a smile.

"No, I'll be fine, Syusuke," came Yumiko's reply.

Tezuka and Fuji nodded and sat themselves down at a table and did a few things, like listening to songs off Tezuka's iPod and playing with a cat – to which only Fuji actually did -, before the tensai's phone rang. It was Yumiko, asking them to come up to the second floor classroom to help her with a few things.

Fuji chuckled as he relayed the news to Tezuka. "I _did_ ask her if she wanted help when we got here," he reasoned with a sly smile.

Tezuka shrugged his shoulders and zipped his bag closed before they both got to their feet and made their way to the workroom where Yumiko was with the other teachers.

Fuji approached his sisters, getting instructions on what she wanted them to do.

"Here, I have two scissors for you and Tezuka-kun to use," she said, handing them to the tensai along with a few cut-outs of 6 different colored Care Bears in plastic wrapping. "Make sure to leave a border around them, okay?"

Fuji took them and led Tezuka off to the small classroom and sat themselves down at one of the kids' tables to set off to work on what Yumiko had asked of them. Pretty soon, the pair found themselves placing workbooks and papers in envelopes for the kids and sticking and aligning labels on the shelves.

It was interesting to note that for most of this time, it was Tezuka who found himself aligning the labels on the shelves while Fuji was handling the sticky tacks to be used for them.

"I'm sorry for being a little obsessive-compulsive, then," Tezuka defended as he was aligning the labels.

Fuji chuckled. "I don't mind, Kunimitsu," the tensai admitted. "I'm just sorry we can't be efficient working together," he added, handing the taller youth another bit of sticky tack.

"This is just how I respond to work: Doing it efficiently." Tezuka paused for a moment and snorted. "I feel as though I'm doing manual labor for your family, you know…"

Fuji shook his head but said nothing.

"I don't mind. I actually enjoy this kind of work," Tezuka admitted as he moved to align another label with the one from the shelf below it.

After they were done with what they were tasked to do – which, at one point, doubled when one of Yumiko's co-teachers asked them to stick the labels on the shelves as well in the same manner -, Tezuka and Fuji settled on the chairs and pulled out Tezuka's iPod to listen to a few songs before it was finally time to leave.

Yumiko had asked Syusuke to escort Tezuka to the gate since they would be going separate ways to go home, so Tezuka didn't really complain. Instead, the former Seigaku captain took in the moment and decided to try and make his boyfriend feel a bit better with things by being a bit more spontaneous with him… which he hoped did the trick as they parted ways with a quick kiss.

---

As Tezuka commuted home, he only had one thought in mind: _'I'll try making his Wednesdays something to look forward to this semester…'_ The bespectacled youth adjusted his glasses and smiled to himself. _'Focusing my attention on you, Syusuke, makes me not have to think about other things I should be trying to move on from.'_

**TBC**


	66. Junjou

Junjou

Summary: Tezuka decides to start reading what Fuji was reading. [TezukaxFuji]

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis and Junjou Romantica are both not mine.

------

Tezuka waited for the next manga page to load. He leaned back on his swivel chair and brought his head back. The bespectacled boy wondered for quite a while why he spent his free time reading through that particular manga.

'_Is it because Syusuke mentioned before that it sort of resembled our relationship…?' _he debated with himself.

Seeing that it had finally loaded from the corner of his eye, Tezuka straightened himself and moved to read the loaded page, reading through the dialogue and taking in the images on every panel. At times, the boy had to shake off any unnecessary thoughts from time to time just to get past a page.

'_Why should I be taken aback every time I see that graphically detailed?' _he thought almost angrily to himself.

"To be honest, I'll have to admit that Syusuke is right. This story, in one way or another mirrors the relationship we share. Some moments in this story have happened to us. Some dialogue has been exchanged between us as well," Tezuka told himself. _'Though I still can't believe that a manga like __**Junjou Romantica**__… Can have so many similarities to what Syusuke and I share when it comes to a relationship and its problems… Especially Usagi and Misaki…'_ Tezuka added as an afterthought.

With a smile etched on his face, Tezuka finished a chapter before opening up his writing program and began typing up a journal entry.

"This… will be the last, I guess… I'll move on and update that blog Syusuke and I share from now on. It would… probably be a more interesting read than these entries, I'll bet," Tezuka said to himself before finishing up the journal entry.

------

And yes, this **is** the final chapter. Honestly, BS and I have decided to stop with these chapters here in (probably due to a lack of reviews, I guess), but instead, plan to continue any updates of this story in our blog entitled _Things About Us_, found here: || http:// usualyetunusual. blogspot. com || Just remove the spaces. Thanks for the support thus far and we hope that you continue supporting us there. It's more interactive than this (although less-detailed) and started off late into the 'story', but at the very least, it gives you all a more 'personal' feel of the relationship Tezuka and Fuji share.

Who knows, we might come back to update our stories in the future when we get enough requests! So, until then, see you! ^______________^b


	67. The Return

The Return

Summary: Tezuka comes back to update his journal. [TezukaxFuji]

A/N: Usual disclaimers apply.

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Tezuka was checking his email one afternoon, only to notice a particular reply to his journal entry. _'That's the second one already....'_ he thought to himself with a small smile. The tennis player realized that it had just been a little over a month since he put writing any other journal entries on hold.

Decided with what to do, Tezuka Kunimitsu went to a computer lab in school after his 7am class, opened a browser, logged into his account and began typing up a new journal entry:

**_In the month I stopped making updates to my journal, it's not going overboard to say that a LOT has happened in that span of time, especially with Syusuke and myself. This same month had a lot of ups and downs, for sure. Along with that, problems that, in itself, was a test of how ready I was to take on this path the rest of my life. I admit, there have been incidents where I thought of giving up. At other times, Syusuke was ready to. But we held each other steady once we realized the dangers of things, and persevered. _**

**_There are things a little bit too personal that Syusuke and I may not want to divulge openly, so I'll be selective with the future events and stuffs that I'll be writing about. I have a few new topics for my next entries, but I'll write them up when schoolwork is not as stressful for me anymore. _**

**_So I'll end with this. I have class in a while._**

Tezuka reread his journal entry before nodding to himself, deeming it satisfactory to be uploaded.

**TBC**

**-------------------**

Yes, i'm obviously back. Wheeee. ^___________________^v Look out for my next few chapters. One's quite heavy with problems, while the other (the next one, most probably) will be a treat for all you followers of this particular work. Remember, these are based on real-life experiences~

Special thanks to **Khelc-sul Renai **and **tokyo girl 05** for the reviews of my 'final' chapter. It was enough to pull me back in to uploading. Thanks~ ^____________^b


	68. One More Step

One More Step

Summary: As the night wore on, things could only get worse. But after some quick thinking, Tezuka finally makes his biggest decision yet. [TezukaxFuji]

A/N: Usual disclaimers apply. This chapter will be conversation-heavy in the latter portion. Minimal edits have been made (capitalizations and such) for convenience, but the conversation content are true to life.

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The evening was a normal as it normally was. Tezuka was settled at home in his room, chatting away with Fuji and Masato-sensei, the latter of whom had become a regular conversation buddy for the tennis player as of late. Besides the window of the two, there was a third window that was open on Tezuka's screen. This one belonged to Shiro-sensei.

Tezuka didn't have to second-guess why he was feeling so much anger towards the educator; lately he was being such a stuck-up nuisance in trying to separate him and Fuji from one another. To do that, Shiro-sensei targeted Syusuke, claiming that he wanted the tensai to himself.

His insides fuming, Tezuka was finding ways to divert his attention for a little bit and decided to open his Word program to type things out. The bespectacled teen watched the blinking cursor for a few long minutes before typing:

_**Shiro-sensei was someone whom I considered to be a father figure. Chatting with him before allowed me another avenue to get through my problems. I guess I subconsciously developed feelings for him that I now deeply regret. Those feelings put my relationship with Syusuke at risk. But from the person who showed much care and concern, he turned into an antagonist who relentlessly tried to take Syusuke away from me. Now's the time I should make the distinction and know where my feelings should lie.**_

Tezuka lifted his hands up from the keyboard, unable to type anything more. He felt his heart's beating pick up pace; a sign that was now all too familiar with him that he needed to calm down.

'_This only happens when something involving Syusuke is about to happen…'_ Tezuka thought to himself with a deep frown. When he came to notice the blinking tab on his taskbar, he sort of understood. The former Seigaku captain often didn't enjoy divulging his problems to the tensai for the reason that he didn't want his boyfriend to worry about him. But there were times when Tezuka's mind lingered back to Shiro-sensei, which for him was quite unavoidable when said educator came to meddle into their relationship.

It was at that moment did things take a turn for the worse; Tezuka had always known that Fuji Syusuke was not one to be at ease with other people in their relationship, especially someone like Shiro-sensei who came to them as an ally from the beginning, only to reveal himself as someone who was, from the very start, another antagonist who was in cahoots with someone like Takahiro Akira.

Fuji was at wit's end and wanted to settle things once and for all and decided to arrange a meeting with Shiro-sensei the following day to find things out for himself. Tezuka, fully knowing that there could be countless things that are possible of happening to his boyfriend, felt his heart start to beat faster once again.

'_Don't tell me… Is this the reason…'_

Tezuka tried to even his breathing, and Shiro-sensei rubbing it in his face wasn't making matters easier. To add to that, he realized that Fuji had snapped, letting out everything that he was keeping within himself, lashing out at him with everything that was in his head that Tezuka had already known but was afraid to confirm with the tensai.

'_All this happened because of him? How troublesome…'_ Tezuka thought to himself with a sigh, shaking his head. _'I guess there's no point in waiting any longer…' _When Fuji was about done ranting, Tezuka turned his attention to Masato-sensei's window. With this, Tezuka decided to put his little plan into action and relayed this decision to Masato-sensei, who was well aware of Tezuka's plans:

**KUNIMITSU: Looks like this surprise should not be kept.  
KUNIMITSU: Even if I don't have the materials for it yet.  
MASATO-SENSEI: What's going on?  
KUNIMITSU: **_**SYUSUKE: Because if my fears are confirmed I'm leaving.**_**  
MASATO-SENSEI: Oh dear  
MASATO-SENSEI: I don't think the proposal's going to work against that, though  
KUNIMITSU: I'll MAKE it work, dammit.  
KUNIMITSU: It's the only thing I can think of to put him at ease  
KUNIMITSU: Because if I don't make it work, I might just end up losing him TOMORROW.  
MASATO-SENSEI: ...what a deadline  
MASATO-SENSEI: and tomorrow is....  
MASATO-SENSEI: 10 minutes from now  
MASATO-SENSEI: Are you sure popping the question is the only way you can think of?  
KUNIMITSU: I'd rather he be at ease with it now  
KUNIMITSU: with all this piling up  
MASATO-SENSEI: Go for it if it's what you think is best**

'_At least you understand. And I thank you for that, Masato-sensei…' _Tezuka thought to himself before returning to Fuji's window.

**KUNIMITSU: I was going to wait until October 9 to do this...  
KUNIMITSU: I was even planning to push it up to next month just to get that man to shut up about it.  
KUNIMITSU: But if this is the only way that will put you at ease, then so be it.  
SYUSUKE: What are you talking about?  
KUNIMITSU: It's true that at some points in time I get held up because of him. But that doesn't mean I'm not ready to move forward. I've BEEN ready...  
KUNIMITSU: I was just waiting until the right moment.  
KUNIMITSU: But the idea that you would possibly be leaving me tomorrow because of this guy is too heartbreaking enough to describe... It makes me tear up and my heart beat faster....  
KUNIMITSU: For fear that I would lose the one I loved the most  
KUNIMITSU: and STILL love until now.  
KUNIMITSU: I'm a very flawed person... it's obvious... I don't even understand why I can't let go of a past like him.  
KUNIMITSU: But despite all that, you endured for me. And even when we came up to our necks in problems, we fought through tooth and nail just to get through them together.  
KUNIMITSU: I... don't have any materials yet with me as of this moment... so the virtual world will have to be put to use...  
KUNIMITSU: *kneels*  
SYUSUKE: ...what are......  
KUNIMITSU: I want to stay by YOUR side. WITH you.  
KUNIMITSU: I couldn't imagine a life without you with me anymore.  
KUNIMITSU: I ask... that you forgive any and all of my past, present and future decisions, especially involving people like him.  
KUNIMITSU: *holds up a box and opens it, revealing a pair of rings***  
**KUNIMITSU: A promise... that when the time is right..... I will get on my knees once again... and ask you... to marry me. For real.**  
**SYUSUKE: Sweet merciful........you have got to be kidding me.........**  
**KUNIMITSU: ...**  
**SYUSUKE: Wait...I've fallen asleep...this isn't one of my dreams anymore is it?**  
**KUNIMITSU: You're not dreaming.**  
**SYUSUKE: Wait...you're serious?!**  
**KUNIMITSU: Yes.  
KUNIMITSU: I don't have the rings yet, but I will get them.  
SYUSUKE: *points to self* Are you absolutely sure about this?  
KUNIMITSU: *nods*  
SYUSUKE: Wait...I have to answer now?  
KUNIMITSU: Of course.**

Tezuka smiled softly at the way the conversation was going. He even went so far as to mention that it was something that he had been planning to do since a few of their other friends have gone and done the same thing.

**SYUSUKE: Yes I know....like the ones the others did...  
SYUSUKE: The others........................  
SYUSUKE: This is what you've been hinting at since way back when!!!!  
KUNIMITSU: *shrugs* Pretty much.**

In the other window...

**MASATO-SENSEI: *hesitantly throws one piece of confetti*  
MASATO-SENSEI: *throws another*  
MASATO-SENSEI: *and another*  
MASATO-SENSEI: The suspense is killing me...  
KUNIMITSU: You're talking to the same person who articulates better virtually.  
KUNIMITSU: Honestly  
KUNIMITSU: **_**SYUSUKE: The others........................  
SYUSUKE: This is what you've been hinting at since way back when!!!!  
**_**MASATO-SENSEI: xDDDD  
MASATO-SENSEI: Finally  
KUNIMITSU: NOW you can throw confetti  
MASATO-SENSEI: *throws buckets of confetti on you two*  
MASATO-SENSEI: 8DDDD  
KUNIMITSU: **_**SYUSUKE: Please don't tell me that was why you asked me to try on the rings at RP  
**_**KUNIMITSU: Not even then did he suspect  
MASATO-SENSEI: Which means you have to think of a proper speech once you actually get the rings  
MASATO-SENSEI: xD  
MASATO-SENSEI: Clueless  
KUNIMITSU: I'll think of something  
MASATO-SENSEI: Woooo  
MASATO-SENSEI: *throws more confetti***

In yet another window…

**SHIRO-SENSEI: Brat...  
KUNIMITSU: Something wrong?  
SHIRO-SENSEI: What did you do to make him back out?  
SHIRO-SENSEI: Must have been something big to make his decision waver  
KUNIMITSU: Pretty much, yeah  
SHIRO-SENSEI: What was it?  
KUNIMITSU: Care to take a guess?  
SHIRO-SENSEI: *sarcastic* Oh let me guess, you finally proposed  
KUNIMITSU: Rub off that sarcasm  
KUNIMITSU: ^__________^  
SHIRO-SENSEI: Yeah right  
KUNIMITSU: I have the message log saved  
KUNIMITSU: ^________________^  
SHIRO-SENSEI: You have got to be kidding me  
KUNIMITSU: Nope**  
**SHIRO-SENSEI: .....**  
**SHIRO-SENSEI: WHAT?!  
KUNIMITSU: ^____________________^  
KUNIMITSU: Yes?  
SHIRO-SENSEI: You're pulling my leg...  
KUNIMITSU: Shall I send you the log?  
SHIRO-SENSEI: copy paste  
SHIRO-SENSEI: Chat logs can be edited  
KUNIMITSU: Very well then**

Without hesitation, Tezuka copy-pasted the proposal he had just done with Fuji to Shiro-sensei's window.

**KUNIMITSU: There  
SHIRO-SENSEI: ....**  
**SHIRO-SENSEI: Have I ever told you that you are a nuisance to my plans?  
KUNIMITSU: Still think I'm pulling your leg?  
KUNIMITSU: ^____________________^  
KUNIMITSU: As many times as I think how you're a nuisance to our love, Shiro-sensei.**  
**KUNIMITSU: ^____________________________^  
SHIRO-SENSEI: I was so close  
SHIRO-SENSEI: Damn it  
KUNIMITSU: Yes, well...  
KUNIMITSU: You'd think my inability to completely let go of you would help you out  
SHIRO-SENSEI: It should have  
SHIRO-SENSEI: but nooooooo  
SHIRO-SENSEI: that was the plan  
SHIRO-SENSEI: You just had to ruin it  
KUNIMITSU: What can I say?  
KUNIMITSU: Guess that's something to thank you for.  
KUNIMITSU: ^_______________^  
SHIRO-SENSEI: Whatever  
SHIRO-SENSEI: I'm going to bed**

As he saw Shiro-sensei go offline, Tezuka couldn't help but smile to himself in triumph. _'Now comes the task of actually getting those rings for Syusuke… Then I'll truly be one step closer to my dreams of spending the rest of my life with him beyond the virtual world…'_ he thought to himself as he just as well said his good nights to Masato-sensei and his boyfriend before shutting down his laptop.

'_I'm immensely glad… and eternally grateful…  
That someone like Fuji Syusuke is enough to drive me to make me do these things for him…  
Because of how much I love and care for him…  
I only want to be with him…  
And because he believes in me…  
I don't want to let him down and hang on to that trust…  
By putting my best foot forward…  
And make decisions that will benefit us both…  
I love you so much, Syusuke…  
More than you'll ever know…'_

**TBC**


	69. Rings

Rings

Summary: Tezuka gets the rings he's promised Syusuke, earning him a long commute to the tensai's house to deliver it. [TezukaxFuji]

A/N: Usual disclaimers apply. Let me clarify that this chapter is a very late entry of an event that happened weeks ago. That's all.

--------

Tuesday evening, Tezuka had accepted a challenge from Shiro-sensei. The bespectacled youth couldn't hold back a smirk in the semi-darkness of his room, illuminated solely by the bedside table lamp. _'If you want to challenge me at something you will never win at, then go right ahead, Shiro-sensei… You're giving me more reason to do the things I already plan to do at a much earlier date. I thank you for the extra motivation.'_

Tezuka had already proposed to Fuji via chat a week before, and as they had just barely entered the month of September, they were to be exposed to another month of annoying interferences from the former educator. Since that time, Tezuka had been thinking of when he would be able to go out and purchase the rings he had his eye on when he and Fuji had gone out to watch a movie together.

'_How many times do I have to prove you wrong with the things I'm more than capable of doing?' _the tennis player thought, already laying out his plans for the day to come.

----

And so the following day, a Wednesday, Tezuka attended his classes as usual. In the back of his mind, however, all Tezuka thought of was his plans ahead. He found out that his majors class was a free cut a few minutes after they had settled into the computer lab. Looking at the time and contemplating what to do for a moment, the bespectacled youth got to his feet and grabbed his things.

"You leaving already?" a classmate of his asked, noticing that he was getting ready to leave. The classmate, Toru, knew about Tezuka's relationship with Fuji, and Tezuka often spoke to Toru and gave him advice on a few things when it came to love (_'It's kind of hard to believe that I'm capable of giving advice…'_ Tezuka added as an afterthought.)

Tezuka nodded. "I'll be going to RP to get something before visiting Syusuke," he explained before gesturing slipping on something onto his finger.

Toru's eyebrows rose at the gesture and grinned. "Ooooooooh…" he said slyly.

Tezuka smirked, nodding at the boy's understanding.

"Well, good luck with that, Tezuka-kun," Toru stated.

Tezuka nodded before heading off.

----

It was a fairly long commute for the tennis player. He lugged around his school bag, as well as his other bag containing his badminton racket and extra clothes from PE earlier that day. The familiar route and way of commuting was one Fuji had shown him when they had gone to watch a particular movie in RP when it was a national holiday. _'So I take a bus to there…_' he thought to himself as he used the footbridge to cross the road to find a particular bus to board.

Upon getting down at RP, Tezuka headed inside and navigated his way easily to the stall where he and Fuji had been browsing for rings. The tennis player thanked his initial idea of having Fuji fit some rings to find out the right size so it was an easier process in the purchasing stage. After choosing the best design he could that was quite an affordable price, Tezuka pulled out the money bill from his wallet as he looked at it for a long moment as they were engraving the rings with their names.

'_Ironically, this money came from Shiro-sensei…' _Tezuka thought to himself with a bitter smile. "I want to make a contribution my foot…" he muttered, shaking his head. _'At least I'll be able to rub it in your face that I made this possible because of you in a way…'_ he added as an afterthought with a smirk.

He handed the money to the clerk, got the change and received the boxed pair of rings before heading back down a floor. He stopped by a donut shop to buy something for Fuji – which he volunteered to do for the tensai – before making a final commute to the Fuji residence.

Tezuka had been sending text messages to Fuji, updating him on his location. Unfortunately, the tensai has not been replying. This caused the bespectacled youth to worry a little bit, but upon pushing the doorbell and seeing his lover, Tezuka's worries immediately washed away.

"I've been texting you a number of messages already," Tezuka began as Fuji came forward to let him inside.

"I haven't been getting anything," the tensai reasoned, trying to fend off the dogs that were trying to hinder Tezuka from stepping further inside.

Tezuka shrugged as he managed to slip inside and spotted the tensai's phone settled on the piano as Fuji went to wash his hands in the kitchen. The former captain took a look to find the screen not displaying any messages at all. _'Strange…'_ he thought as Fuji returned, leading the way to his room.

As soon as they both settled themselves on Fuji's bed, Tezuka pulled out a bag of munchkins and handed it to the tensai.

"Ah, I'll eat this later," Fuji stated happily, setting it on his desk.

Tezuka pulled out the box that contained the rings. "Would you mind if I do it now?" he inquired. After an encouraging gesture from Fuji, the former Seigaku captain cleared his throat. "So… I've already said everything I could possibly say last week… online… But I guess against that, I couldn't add anything more. So at best, I could only repeat a few things I've said… To let you know that I was serious."

"You didn't get the expensive one, did you?" Fuji asked in alarm.

Tezuka shook his head hastily. "Of course not!" he defended.

Fuji chuckled after a sigh of relief before urging Tezuka to continue.

Tezuka averted his gaze, knowing that his face was probably already blushing slightly at the mere act of doing this. "A-no… Let this serve as a promise… That when the time comes… When the time is right… I'll make a proper proposal to you… not in these surroundings," – Fuji chuckled at this – "but in the best way that I can… That when I do… I'll ask you to marry me."

He popped the box open to reveal the pair of rings with a solemn smile. He took Fuji's ring and took the tensai's left hand, slipping it around his ring finger before stating, "I love you, Syusuke…" and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Fuji smiled warmly and took Tezuka's ring. "Don't put it on yourself," he scolded before doing the honors of slipping the band around the bespectacled youth's ring finger.

They both shared a chaste kiss before lying down beside each other on Fuji's bed before Tezuka held up the tensai's hand and frowned. "Isn't it a little bit loose?" he inquired.

Fuji inverted his hand. "As long as it doesn't--" The ring fell off. "Oh." Fuji took the fallen ring and sat up.

Tezuka's eyes shifted to the necklace he had given Fuji that the tensai was currently wearing. "Why don't you place it here?"

"With the dolphin?"

"Let's see how it looks," Tezuka offered as Fuji proceeded to unclip the necklace and slipped the ring through the chain.

"No, it doesn't look nice," Fuji stated.

"Then set the dolphin aside and use the chain instead," Tezuka suggested.

Fuji shook his head. "I think I have an extra chain around here somewhere," he replied, getting off the bed and searching his desk for a while. "Aha~ I found it." Fuji slipped the chain through the ring and held it up with a smile. "It matches with the ring," he observed.

Tezuka merely nodded before getting up and offered to clip the chain around the tensai's neck.

When the matter of the rings were finally put the rest, the two spent the rest of the afternoon in each other's company, at times just falling asleep together. When 6 o'clock came, Tezuka and Fuji had dinner together, and by 8 or so, Tezuka finally left to meet with his mother who offered to meet with him and offer him a ride home.

**TBC**


	70. Visit to the Sick

Visit to the Sick

Summary: Fuji takes a day off from his classes due to feeling 'terrible', and Tezuka decides to cancel his plans for the rest of the afternoon to pay his boyfriend a visit. The night before, however, sparks a strange conversation with a certain teacher. [TezukaxFuji]

A/N: Usual disclaimers apply. Let me clarify that this chapter is a very late entry of an event that happened weeks ago. That's all. Oh, and this may be a little conversation-heavy again.

* * *

Tuesday evening, Tezuka and Fuji were chatting as usual into the night. Fuji was complaining that his stomach had been giving him problems at that he had been throwing up quite often already. At hearing this, Tezuka frowned, wishing he could do something for his boyfriend as he glanced at the silver band around his left ring finger. Tezuka's initial plan for the following day was to attend his four classes and join the choir rehearsal for the Carolfest program of his org that he had joined the year before. His day was booked.

At around the same time, he was talking with Masato-sensei and, surprisingly, Shiro-sensei. After the longest time, the bespectacled youth had no headaches from conversing with the latter as he normally had been recently. Talking about any possible courses of action with regards to keeping a check on Fuji's condition, Masato-sensei suggested that he go to visit the tensai at his home if he was able to. While Tezuka was still contemplating on things, Shiro-sensei, on the other hand, was biting at him about priorities and schedules.

Amidst it all, Fuji had pleaded that he go ahead to bed to the former captain, hoping that getting rest would do him some good. Tezuka agreed, bidding his boyfriend a good night, continuing his conversation with the two teachers.

Tezuka's attention_,_ however, shifted to what Shiro-sensei began to emphasize on, moving onto what Tezuka later described as a 'good guy lecture'.

**KUNIMITSU: Syusuke isn't one to set aside  
KUNIMITSU: Tennis isn't all too much a priority for me anymore.  
KUNIMITSU: I don't have any other orgs  
KUNIMITSU: And Carolfest priorities have set dates that can be worked around.  
SHIRO-SENSEI: mhmm  
SHIRO-SENSEI: Like tomorrow perhaps?  
SHIRO-SENSEI: ^_^  
SHIRO-SENSEI: I know for a fact that he's sick  
SHIRO-SENSEI: He's been feeling bad ever since Monday but the worse didn't come until this afternoon  
SHIRO-SENSEI: But have you noticed that?  
SHIRO-SENSEI: No  
SHIRO-SENSEI: Since when you saw him you were looking forward to finally play tennis on a Monday  
SHIRO-SENSEI: He's not to be set aside you say,  
SHIRO-SENSEI: then start acting like you mean it  
KUNIMITSU: Then I will.  
SHIRO-SENSEI: Tsk. Do you really need someone to tell you and intimidate you every single time?  
KUNIMITSU: ...**

At this point, Tezuka was taken aback, unsure whether he had understood the gravity of those words that Shiro-sensei had just used. _'Is he…'_ he thought slowly, trailing off as he began reading the stream of messages that followed.

**SHIRO-SENSEI: for your information, a boyfriend isn't just someone you can be all lovey-dovey to and care for when they need it or when you need the care  
SHIRO-SENSEI: it's a person you want to be  
SHIRO-SENSEI: not just some sort of pet  
SHIRO-SENSEI: or a simple classmate  
SHIRO-SENSEI: or a simple friend  
SHIRO-SENSEI: Snap out of the illusion that it's all about that  
SHIRO-SENSEI: If you really care enough then you're supposed to be able to step out of your way when you are needed, to worry without having any reason to.  
SHIRO-SENSEI: And most of all to understand even if what is needed to be understood is not seen  
SHIRO-SENSEI: Stop acting like a love mother hen  
SHIRO-SENSEI: and start acting like a boyfriend for once  
SHIRO-SENSEI: well fine not once  
SHIRO-SENSEI: but again  
SHIRO-SENSEI: You did it before and I have no idea what caused you to be so lax  
SHIRO-SENSEI: If you really want to make it last then realize that there will be a lot of things you need to do whether the situation calls for it or not  
SHIRO-SENSEI: My God I hate lecturing like a good guy  
SHIRO-SENSEI: ...  
SHIRO-SENSEI: ^_^  
SHIRO-SENSEI: okay I'm done **

Tezuka's eyes widened as each message was sent before he smirked. _'Really now…'_ he thought in mild amusement at this development. _'Looks like Shiro-sensei is returning to the same man I knew once upon a time.'_ After teasing the man that he was worried about him and Fuji – to which Shiro-sensei denied time and again -, Tezuka was decided.

Still chatting with Masato-sensei, whose conscience was nagging at him for asking the youth to visit Fuji at the expense of cutting class, Tezuka more than happily obliged, reassuring the educator that nothing too major was happening for his other classes.

'_And if I'm being honest, I'm a little exhausted of attending classes. I just want to see my Syusuke and keep him company,'_ Tezuka thought to himself.

Tezuka also took care of his attendance at the choir rehearsal, talking to one of the project heads, apologizing that he couldn't go and had unavoidable plans to attend to. _'I've already studied the song you required us to learn, anyway…'_ he added to himself.

Shiro-sensei, who was picking at him and his priorities again, brought up tomorrow to the Computer Science student. Tezuka informed the older man of his plans for the following day in defense to everything Shiro-sensei was telling him. _'If you want me to start acting like a boyfriend again… Then stop reminding me… You're acting like my father again,'_ Tezuka thought to himself with a smile, a chuckle escaping him before he decided to head off for the evening.

That Wednesday, Tezuka attended his two earliest classes; his Badminton PE class and his Physics class two and a half hours later that had them doing their third long test for the semester. As part of habit and tradition, the bespectacled youth joined his blockmates for lunch at the cafeteria; at that time, recalling the words of Masato-sensei that he was not to skip lunch, as Tezuka joked to skip it the night before.

When he was done, he gathered his things and left without a word, heading off to commute to Fuji's house. Grateful that he still recalled the route to take, especially when it came to taking the buses, Tezuka managed to arrive in front of the Fuji residence in about half an hour later.

Fuji's mother came to entertain him at the gate. "Syusuke's feeling sick today, Kunimitsu," she informed him.

Tezuka nodded with a smile. "Ah, hai. I'm aware of that, Fuji-san. That's why I came to visit; so I could keep him company."

Fuji's mother nodded, opening the gate for him and escorted him into the house. "He said it was because of eating some churros yesterday," she explained. "Go on ahead to his room, then."

"Hai. Arigatou," he thanked before making his way off to his beloved's bedroom. Tezuka slowly opened the door and see a bundle under a comforter on the tensai's bed. The corner of Tezuka's lips curled into a small smile as he entered the room, slowly setting his bags down before closing the door behind him and approached the bed. On it, he saw his slumbering boyfriend covered under the comforter, curled up like a ball.

Tezuka leaned forward and kissed the boy on the cheek, which stirred the tensai.

"K…Kunimitsu?"

Tezuka smiled and sat himself down beside Fuji. "Hai. I'm here," he greeted.

Fuji uncurled himself for a moment and grabbed his cell phone and frowned. "Why didn't you give me a call? I would have let you in."

"Your mother was kind enough to do so, Syusuke. Besides…" Tezuka paused as he stroked through the tensai's hair. "You need as much rest as you can. How are you?"

Fuji groaned and wrapped his arms around Tezuka. "Terrible… But now that you're here, I think I feel a little better already," he replied with an honest smile.

Tezuka smiled, kissing Fuji on the forehead. "That's reassuring. Don't worry… I'll be here to look after you and keep you company until 5 in the afternoon. Is that okay?"

Fuji nodded before pulling Tezuka to lie down beside him. "Warm…" he muttered before closing his eyes.

Tezuka began sharing with Fuji what was discussed last night, informing him of the slight change that Shiro-sensei in particular was giving off. It wasn't long before Tezuka insisted that Fuji try to get some rest again, but the tensai stubbornly refused and settled for just snuggling up to the former captain.

Fuji then tried to have some lunch, which later came out after the poor boy threw up a few minutes afterwards. For the rest of the afternoon, Tezuka and Fuji lay side by side as both drifted off to sleep at one point. At other times when one of the two had enough strength and was at least half-awake, they'd get a little playful with the other (A/N: I guess you'd imagine in what context of 'playful' I'd be talking about here. Haha).

It wasn't long before Tezuka had to get going. After reassuring Fuji that he could get home on his own without assistance from the tensai, the bespectacled youth after a final farewell to the tensai, promising that they would chat with one another when Tezuka got home. He headed off in a just a much familiar route back to his university, where his father offered to wait for him so they could go home together.

'_A visit to the sick… At least I know that at least just my company is enough to make Syusuke even the least bit better...'_ Tezuka thought to himself, a satisfied smile on his face. _'Hopefully it's enough to contribute to his getting better in the long run…'_

**TBC**


	71. Heavy Rains, Winds and Traffic

Heavy Rains, Winds and Traffic

Summary: On the day that Tezuka and Fuji decide to go out on a date that afternoon, a typhoon strikes hard, causing much more than needing to cancel their plans but calamities for them and their families as well. Below is an account of Tezuka's day. [TezukaxFuji]

A/N: Usual disclaimers apply. Just to note for clarification: We should all know by now that the setting of TIWtK and TYDK are not in Japan, but rather, in the Philippines where me and Bloodysamurai reside. Typhoons are never a good thing. This might well be the worst I've witnessed so far.

--------

Friday night. Tezuka had printed out documents Fuji had needed for his second Saturday class the following day, agreeing to go to Seishun to hand it to the tensai by 11am. Both had already agreed that they would be going on a date that afternoon after Fuji's classes and watch a movie. With the plans finally slated in stone, both headed to bed (Shiro-sensei bothering to send the bespectacled youth to bed). Neither of them knew then, however, that what awaited them the following day would be full of much worry and distress.

September 26, 2009. Saturday morning. Tezuka had woken up an hour before his phone alarm sounded off that he had set at 9:30 am, opting not to go back to sleep anymore and got up, heading to his desk and turned on his laptop for a while to check his email and some other things. He had been constantly contacting Fuji, leaving him messages on his phone to and fro. Outside, the weather was already turning for the worse. Rain was pouring hard on the roof of Tezuka's house, visible through his room window.

'_I'll still have to see if I can drive off to Seishun…'_ he told himself as he went to get ready to leave, taking a shower and getting dressed. By 10 am, he was ready to leave and leave he did, taking his father's car and heading out into the storm at 10:20. Tezuka luckily did not get into much traffic until he was minutes from Seishun on a regular, non-rainy day.

Minutes turned into half an hour. He had been exchanging messages with Fuji with the tensai telling him to start heading back home with floods starting to form in the area.

**You wouldn't have a place to stop. Turn back, Mitsu.**

With a heavy sigh, Tezuka gritted his teeth and momentarily hit the wheel in agitation. "Dammit… And I wanted to see you today…" he muttered out before he heard a familiar melody. He turned to his iPod that he had plugged into the radio. What played at the moment was the song Fuji had written for him. This caused Tezuka both to calm down and worry about his boyfriend even more.

'_That means he's stranded in Seishun…'_ he thought sadly before looking ahead of him at the unmoving traffic. While waiting, he received a call from his mother, telling him to go home. At one point, Tezuka had wanted to get Syusuke from Seishun regardless, but considering weather conditions only turning for the worse, it was unavoidable. He had to head back. It took another half hour or so before he was able to turn right on a particular road to start his drive back home.

'_If anything… Syusuke will be fine… He just has to be…' _he thought to himself.

The bespectacled youth slowly came to another hurdle along the road where it flooded a few inches. And seeing as there was absolutely no other way to go to get to his destination, Tezuka tried his hand at getting through it. He repeatedly got calls from both his parents, asking where he was and how things were on the road. After a short chat with his father about getting through floods with the car, Tezuka pursued at a slow pace. He entered the campus of his cousin's university to pick her up since her boyfriend would find it impossible at the moment to pick her up as planned.

'_Ironically they were also planning to go out on a date,'_ Tezuka thought to himself. He didn't find much trouble getting there, but now came the task to wait. Unable to contact his cousin Kaori for a while, his mother instructed him to head home, which he tried to do. That was, until he received a call from said cousin. Tezuka forced his way back – even to the point of causing a small counter flow of traffic – and returned to the college where Kaori was situated.

Upon arriving, Tezuka met with his cousin, saying that she had a classmate Izumi hitching a ride with them. Tezuka let Kaori - who had more experience in driving than he did - take control of the wheel on their way back. And the drive was not pretty either.

"Hey, why is it fogging in the car?" Kaori proclaimed, starting to wipe the windshield of accumulated fog in front of her to see the road ahead. "Kunimitsu, can you wipe your window? I can't see the side mirror," she instructed, and Tezuka was more than happy to oblige.

There were various areas of the universities that flooded onto the road, causing traffic. This ultimately led the small trio to find another way out. "The avenue is flooded and in heavy traffic, they wouldn't open the other gate leading out onto the main road and thus were left with one last option.

"We might as well try our luck there. I don't think it's very flooded compared to the other areas," Tezuka suggested after ending a call with his father who told them of a possible route to take. The trio was consistently wiping off the fog from the windshield, front windows and back to navigate better. It wasn't until the right front tire met a little roadblock, causing them to be unable to press forward.

"You hit something," Tezuka pointed out, looking out through his window as best as he could.

"What?"

"A sign of sorts," Izumi responded.

"Did it fall over or was it already there?"

"It's a pile of wood and rocks by the looks of it," Tezuka replied.

"Then we should move it, shouldn't we? Does it look heavy?" Kaori inquired.

"A bit, yes," Tezuka agreed.

"Well, we better do something because we won't be going anywhere if we don't and we're already causing traffic," Kaori argued, gesturing to the cars behind them.

Both Tezuka and Kaori's classmate agreed to head out into the rain and see what the problem was. As Izumi busied herself with the small pile, Tezuka checked the space behind. "You've still got space to back-up," he told his cousin before helping Kaori know how much she could move back before he said it was enough.

'_I'm finding more reasons to hate the rain. How wonderful,' _Tezuka thought to himself with a groan as he got back into the front passenger seat, not caring anymore if he was wet from the rain or the umbrella. All that mattered at the moment was that they got through the traffic.

It had been close to one or two hours in the slow moving traffic; Tezuka, Izumi and Kaori all wiping like crazy until they got on the main road. At some points, Tezuka took some time to send messages to Fuji, asking how he was faring back at Seishun.

"YES!!" Kaori proclaimed at seeing the open road.

"Final hurdle…" Tezuka stated. They dropped Izumi off at one of the pedestrian overpasses before the pair took a U-Turn, wiping off the fog still. They were literally minutes away from home. When they turned into their subdivision, Tezuka leaned back onto the chair.

"Keep wiping!" Kaori scolded. "I don't want to suddenly hit anything when we're so close to home!"

"Wiping, wiping…" Tezuka muttered, using his already drenched long sleeves to wipe the fog.

As soon as they turned into their street, it was only a few seconds before they reached the house. Kaori sounded the car's horn before exclaiming, "FINALLY!!" The gate was opened for them as Kaori parked the car into the garage. Tezuka Kuniharu and Tezuka Ayana came out of the house and ushered the two into the house. It was quarter to 3 in the afternoon when they arrived.

Tezuka looked down at his feet to find them drenched through as he pulled off his shoes and socks. "It's crazy out there…" he muttered. As Kaori began telling his parents about what happened, he went upstairs to change clothes before returning downstairs to have a very late lunch with his cousin. Tezuka sent a message to Fuji, informing him of his situation.

'_Now I have only Syusuke to worry about…'_ he thought to himself. Just after eating, the power of the Tezuka residence was cut off, leaving them and the rest of their subdivision most probably, in a blackout that lasted for about four or five hours. Tezuka, who spent the remainder of the dark afternoon in his room, was trying to keep awake, waiting for any news on Fuji's status before he fell asleep.

The Computer Science student woke up at 5 minutes to 6 pm, as he got up to a message from his blockmate Natsumi, Toru's girlfriend, who was asking him how he was, stating that Fuji had used one of the websites to ask how Tezuka was. _'Up until now… Honestly…'_ Tezuka shook his head, punching in a reply.

'_I can't completely relate with the devastating emotions you're going through… With your house possibly flooded and your mother and sister stuck there, I sympathize… But they're strong-willed, I know. Then you need to be strong-willed for yourself as well, Syusuke…'_ Tezuka thought as he rubbed away the last of his sleep.

That evening, he began sending messages to Fuji, asking him of his situation. At that point, he found out that the tensai was picked up by a relative who lived not far from Tezuka's place. Tezuka, his parents and his two cousins Kaori and Kaoru went out of their subdivision to a fast food restaurant that had its own generator for dinner.

When dinner was done, they were heading back home when they realized that there were lights in the subdivision again, meaning that the power was back. They quickly drove back to the house as Tezuka went upstairs and took a shower; the first thing in his mind before moving to his room afterwards and see if there was internet.

Up until now, Tezuka was exchanging messages with Fuji through phone before a particular message caught his attention.

**Internet's been gone for a while. If you can, can you call? I need to hear your voice.**

Tezuka smiled, not stopping to think as he dialed the tensai's number and brought his cell phone to his ear. It took a few tries before the line came through and he finally heard his boyfriend's voice for only a second time that day.

The two conversed for 20 minutes, expressing their concern for one another, updating each other on everything that's happening. They ended the call with fond farewells and 'I Love You's as Tezuka sighed. "You don't know how happy I am to hear your voice, Syusuke…" he muttered with a small smile, clutching onto his phone tightly.

Tezuka didn't sleep until past midnight that night, his worries shifting to Fuji's relatives stuck at their house, hoping that they were going to be well.

**TBC**

---

A/N: I will cut this chapter here. The events that followed are updates of things due to the aftermath of the typhoon.

As of September 28, 2009, Fuji has reunited with his family members and will be going to see the extent of the damage from the flood at their residence. He will try salvaging what personal belongings he can retrieve. He will be staying with Tezuka on Wednesday and Thursday evening to work on a school project of his. Tezuka is happy to report that he and his family and relatives are safe and not affected by the floods, but offers much sympathy to all the victims of the typhoon. Tezuka plans to help Fuji in any way he can.


	72. Sleepovers

Sleepovers

Summary: Fuji starts to sleep over for a few days in Tezuka's house. When Fuji leaves, Tezuka writes a journal entry of his experience. [TezukaxFuji]

A/N: Usual disclaimers apply. Written in first person PoV.

---

In the 11 months I've been with Syusuke, I never imagined that there would come a time when we would experience a typhoon to plague our country… In the same way I never imagined that I would be able to have my lover stay with me for a few days. And yes, I mean it in the sense of him sleeping over.

The first time it happened, it was at the secret request of his older sister Yumiko that day after we both attended the night carnival (A/N: Refer to Chapter 24 of TYDK and Chapters 19 and 20 of TIWtK). At that time, we had already been together for a month, and we were still quite shy around each other that we really didn't know what to do except tease one another with the stuffed animals.

If my math is correct, Syusuke had already slept over here a total of six nights. These past five were times when he needed access to the internet due to the recent typhoon, and was more or less an excuse to be with me, so of course I wouldn't complain.

By the time that Syusuke started sleeping over again, we were, in a sense, more mature. We experienced a lot of things; we've been on a number of dates and basically had more months under our belt until the big anniversary. So now, we had more ideas on how to spend our time together despite being random. At times it was interesting to see both of us in front of our laptops replying to each other's posts on our roleplays or playing internet games, to be honest. On other times, we'd just spend time lying down beside each other, finding each other's ticklish spots or something just a little bit more playful, letting our hands roam on their own, if you know what I mean.

For Syusuke to sleepover equivalently meant not having to be time-conscious. I admit, I had to remind him that we didn't need to constantly check the time if it was 5:30 in the afternoon, which was usually the time he would start getting ready to return home.

During the time when Syusuke was with me the week after the typhoon, I spent most of my time comforting him; finding ways to distract him and make him happy enough to get through the tragedy that he had to go through. It took a lot of effort, but I'm glad that in the end, I was able to provide what I could for him until he needed to leave.

The second time around, Syusuke and I had the privilege of going off to school together from my house. Walking and commuting together under the rain with a single umbrella was quite romantic, according to Syusuke. It was just a bit ironic that during that day, a Thursday, I only had one class and I realized I could have just skipped it altogether since it was merely a time for sharing experiences during the typhoon. I eventually didn't have a turn to share, so there was ultimately no point. I was even late for that one class because I took the time to walk my boyfriend inside Seishun since it was drizzling a little bit still and he had forgotten to pack an umbrella with him. So after one and a half hour of listening to other people share their stories, I returned to Seishun to pick Syusuke up and have lunch with him and Kawamura, who sheepishly asked to join us.

After lunch, we bid our farewells to Kawamura who went home as Syusuke and I returned to Seishun for one last errand that Syusuke needed to do before the two of us returned home to my place to spend the rest of the day. Throughout that day, however, I was exhibiting a bad case of a sore throat that wouldn't go away, and Syusuke had become apprehensive about my health, scolding me to get some rest and that if he deemed me sick tomorrow morning, he wouldn't let me go to school.

Aside from being appalled at the idea, I decided not to argue and just see what the day ahead brought us. We particularly stayed up until midnight that evening so we could properly greet each other for our 11th monthsary before heading to bed.

---

On the morning of the 9th of October, we both woke up to my 8:00am alarm, to which I found myself immediately coughing. Syusuke, after checking if I was coming down with a fever, asked me if I could go to class in that condition. Those were one of the times when we would be arguing about something, and one of us would eventually concede. I didn't really have much to go with since I was feeling very much under the weather and not in the mood to attend class, so chose to follow my boyfriend's advice of not going to school for the day.

It was sometime early into the afternoon when Syusuke and I had a little argument of sorts. He was constantly telling me to get some rest, but I refused and just wanted to lay down beside him on my bed. I wasn't quite sure how or why, but at one point, he moved to his bag and started fixing his clothes. I peeked out from under the pillow – where I buried my head under for getting slightly annoyed at him for telling me to get some rest – for him to suggest that maybe he should be going back to his relative's place.

Delirious or not from the cold and sore throat, I kept telling Syusuke that he shouldn't; that I didn't want him to leave. His defense was because I should be resting and with him around it would be difficult. Of course I rebutted by saying that I wanted him with me; that I _needed_ him by my side. I found myself gushing out tears. It was then did I realize that it was the first time that we would be spending the _entire_ day of our monthsary in each other's company since he would still be staying over one more night. And I did not want things to end so bitterly for that particular day.

Syusuke, thankfully, conceded and lied beside me in my arms. I didn't notice it, but I was clutching so tightly onto him that I couldn't bear to let go. I felt that if I slackened my hold just a bit, he would leave. At that point, I didn't care if I was showing raw emotion; all that mattered to me was that my beloved wouldn't leave my side.

We received a number of shoves from a few people over chat (including Shiro-sensei and Masato-sensei, the former of whom seemed to be making a conscious effort to know his boundaries with things now) urging us to at least go out to eat and have a quick dinner to celebrate the occasion. And with every time I offered the idea to Syusuke, he would decline and use my sickness as an excuse. Finally, I managed to convince him that I was well enough to go out to dinner with him and managed to take my father's car and drive to the mall to go to a restaurant with Syusuke.

We've been to the mall a few times, but it was the first time I brought a car along and experienced the hassle of looking for a parking space, more so with Syusuke in the front passenger seat. New experiences, of course, keep happening. I navigated us around the place since I was more familiar with the layout and knew where the places we needed to go to were. We stopped by a bookstore to get my usual sports magazine before heading to eat. No later did we pay for the bill did we get up and walk around a bit to get the food down. I went to a particular store to buy myself a new mouse for my laptop before we decided to head back to my house.

Arriving back, we spent the rest of the evening together to finish the day; our 11th monthsary being silly college students having fun with each other. Believe me, I couldn't wish for a better partner than Fuji Syusuke. He's the only one who can make me feel such overwhelming happiness, sadness or any other emotion that I cannot begin to express my gratitude and love for this angel that is my boyfriend. I love him like nobody else. And I'd want to stay by his side for as long as he'll have me.

---

The last day of Syusuke's stay here in my house before he had to leave, we spent in the mall again in an attempt to purchase a USB broadband so that he could have access to the internet in his relative's house. I managed to take my father's car once again and take us there without problems. The two of us decided to have some ice cream for an afternoon snack, and there was just no substitute for Dairy Queen Blizzards. Eventually, we decided to leave when we were unsuccessful at finding stock of the broadband. I took Syusuke back to his relative's place before heading home alone.

As I slumped down in front of my laptop to begin this entry, I couldn't help but already feel that emptiness that Syusuke had easily filled in for me. I realized now more than ever that to be with him in those few days was enough to make me see how much I actually needed my boyfriend constantly by my side so I can truly be happy.

I want to spend the rest of forever with him; holding his hand, kissing him all over and having him with me always. Now and forever.

---

**TBC**


	73. Rediscovery

Rediscovery

Summary: Tezuka stumbles across his online journal and decides to make a quick update. [TezukaxFuji]

A/N: Partially written in first PoV (italicized). Disclaimers to note: _Prince of Tennis_ is owned by Konomi Takeshi and _Ace Attorney_ is owned by Shu Takumi.

* * *

2 years. This was how long Tezuka and Fuji had lasted as of Tuesday the week before. The first few months of their relationship have all been a development process; most highlighted events of which have been more or less tabulated on both of the students' online journals in previous entries. While browsing the internet during one of his major subjects using the Ubuntu Operating System, Tezuka stumbles upon his journal and decides to finally make an update.

_November 15, 2010_

_This online journal..._

_It's been ages since I went out of my way to type up an entry for this; so I hope not to disappoint. This past year thus far has been nothing but a continuing roller coaster full of ups and downs; the same as the year before. But it's expected, I suppose. After all, a relationship with someone of the same sex is, as a friend once told me, "not all cake and frosting"... or something to that extent of a description._

_6 days ago, Syuusuke and I had 'celebrated' our two years together as a couple. I place the term celebrated in quotation marks for the reason that we have yet had the privilege to properly go out on a date. What did we do, you ask? Well, this is best described in two parts, which I will be typing down shortly. These two parts center around an unplanned 'gift-giving' between Syuusuke and myself._

_Syuusuke was the first who presented me with a gift; and indeed, I was humbly surprised. Quite recently, Syuusuke now owns his own Nintendo DSLite, so we can both enjoy playing the same games on the same console. One of the game series that gave us much interest - which eventually led to a roleplay - was the Ace Attorney games. The character I personally like - and quite coincidentally could relate to - is Miles Edgeworth. So the day before our 2-year anniversay, Syuusuke and I met and he gave me a manga: Ace Attorney Casebook Vol. 2: The Miles Edgeworth Files. I was utterly speechless._

_It took an evening of mass panic (mostly on financial problems) before I finally decided on what to give my boyfriend in return. On the day of our anniversary, I took advantage of the breaks I had, having already begun school the day before, and walked to one of the flower shops across Seigaku to make a reservation of **9 red roses** that I would pick up later that afternoon. After my last class that only lasted about an hour, I sidetracked to the nearby grocery to purchase a bar of white chocolate that Syuusuke enjoyed before picking up the bouquet. Just as I reacted to his gift, I had rendered Syuusuke speechless... and teased by his blockmates who saw._

_To explain my reasons for the particular color and quantity of the roses seem to be in order (as described by this website ( http:/ www . loveletterbox . com / meaning_of_roses. htm | just remove the spaces) ; **red **means sincere love and respect, courage and passion. **Nine** means an eternal love, together as long as we live. _

_I think this will be efficient content for the time being. I shall urge Syuusuke to update his journal as well if he has the time_

_-T. Kunimitsu_

**TBC**


	74. Syuusuke's Birthday

Syuusuke's Birthday

Summary: On Fuji's birthday, Tezuka takes a visit to Rikkai Dai Fuzoku to submit some forms for the tensai's application for law school while Fuji has a class to attend. [TezukaxFuji]

A/N: Usual disclaimer for Tenipuri applies. And as much we know that Fuji's birthday was back in February, I'll reiterate that this is based on real life experiences. This particular birthday falls on November 17.

* * *

Tezuka woke up to his early alarm of 7:15 in the morning, and after a few snoozes, he finally hauled himself out of bed in a hurry. Today was his boyfriend's birthday, and just hours ago, a little past midnight, he was chatting online with Fuji showering him with greetings.

He only had two classes that lasted until 12:30 in the afternoon, and had the rest of the day open to be spent with his boyfriend. Fuji had a single class that day scheduled from 4:30 to 6 in the evening. If there was anything that Fuji worried about this past week, it was going through the trouble of going to pass his application for the law aptitude examination.

**SYUUSUKE: Do you think you can go to Rikkai for me, Mitsu?  
KUNIMITSU: Sure. It's not as though I have much else to do while waiting for you, after all.**

Indeed, Tezuka was practically free the entire afternoon, as he would later on be attending a little house party dinner at the Fuji residence to celebrate the tensai's birthday that evening.

Two days prior, Tezuka had generously agreed to join Fuji and his sister Yumiko to stop by the mall to run a few errands and, over an early dinner, Yumiko had personally asked the bespectacled junior if he would be able to join them for the celebrations. He answered with a positive response before driving the Fuji siblings home.

He and Fuji met that day after his last class of the day. They had dinner at the Japanese restaurant they frequented and helped themselves to some Shake Rolls. Fuji had handed everything Tezuka needed to submit in a brown envelope, along with instructions and the application fee he was to use to pay.

By quarter to 3, Tezuka had escorted Fuji to Seigaku, where he had to attend a meeting with his groupmates. This left Tezuka to head off and catch a bus to Rikkai Dai Fuzoku. It took the former captain a good 20 minutes before he located the university cashier where he would have to pay for the application. It was quite a long line, but luck was on his side when he was redirected to another line that processed payments not involving tuition for the current semester. Once he was paid for, he headed out of the building.

"Now how do I locate the law building…" he muttered to himself.

"A-re? Isn't that Tezuka-kun?" came a voice from behind him. Wheeling around, Tezuka spotted Yukimura Seiichi and Sanada Genichirou.

"Yukimura. Sanada," Tezuka identified.

"What are you doing here in Rikkai?" Sanada inquired roughly.

Tezuka held up the brown envelope. "Passing an application form," he answered nonchalantly.

"Oh how interesting. Are you thinking of transferring schools then?" Yukimura tried as Tezuka shook his head in reply.

"It's for the LAE."

"Ah, the Law Aptitude Examination," Sanada said with a nod of understanding.

"As expected of Tezuka," Yukimura praised with a chuckle.

"I'm not taking it," Tezuka clarified.

"Fuji is, isn't he?" came a new voice as Yanagi Renji approached them.

Tezuka smirked, nodding as he pulled out the application form where Fuji's passport size picture was pasted.

"That's not surprising," Yukimura admitted.

Yanagi considered Tezuka's shifting gaze around the campus for a moment. "You don't know how to get to the law building, do you?"

"Do you expect me to know where it is?" Tezuka fired back pointedly.

Yanagi chuckled. "Yes, point taken."

"We can escort you then," Sanada suggested.

Tezuka considered this offer for a moment before commenting, "Don't you all have classes or anything to attend to instead?"

"Relax, Tezuka. We all just finished all our classes for the day. So since we don't really want to head home yet at least we're killing time this way," Yanagi reasoned out.

Conceding to this reasoning, Tezuka finally nodded and allowed the three to escort him to the law building from the cashier, which was just a few minutes' walk. The four engaged in conversation about Fuji and school life in Hyoutei.

Finally, they reached their destination.

"You'll want to look for room 117 after turning right at the end of the hall," Yanagi instructed.

"Thank you for your help," Tezuka said gratefully, nodding his head.

"It was no trouble. Do wish Fuji luck for us, Tezuka," Yukimura chided with a cheerful smile.

"And a happy birthday as well," Sanada added.

"I will," Tezuka said with another nod before entering the law building and finding his way to the appropriate room. Once there, he fiddled with the forms, pasting the pictures and stamp in their appropriate places before handing them over to one of the receptionists. He only needed to wait a few minutes before receiving the tensai's exam pass.

Peeking into the brown envelope that was now practically empty, Tezuka slipped the pass inside before heading back to Seigaku where he waited out the rest of the time playing _Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations_ on his Nintendo DS Lite.

Finally, 6pm arrived and it took a while before Fuji emerged along with Kikumaru, who would be joining them for the birthday dinner at Fuji's house.

Once they were out, Tezuka approached them.

"Oh hello Mitsu~" Fuji greeted with a smile.

"Long time no see Tezuka-buchou~" Kikumaru greeted with a grin.

Nodding to them both, Tezuka wordlessly handed out the brown envelope to Fuji. "The exam pass is in there," he told the tensai.

Shuffling to open the flap and reach inside, Fuji pulled out the exam pass and quickly located the date and time. "When am I-" he paused as his eyes snapped open in alarm. "NOVEMBER 21? But that's this Sunday already!" he protested. "I'm not prepared!" he exclaimed suddenly.

"Yumiko-neesan is waiting already in the car," Tezuka announced off-handedly, jerking a thumb behind him before leading the tensai in that direction.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Fujiko~" Kikumaru encouraged.

"I can't remember anything anymore!" Fuji began to fret, bringing his hands to his head.

"You have our full support Fujiko~" the acrobat chided. "Ne Tezuka?"

Tezuka nodded firmly his agreement to this statement.

After a while they made their way to Yumiko's car where she was waiting for the little group and once everyone was in the car, drove out of Seigaku. They stopped by the bake shop for Fuji to purchase a cake for himself. For the lack of a mocha cake, the tensai purchased a chocolate cake instead and then they were off.

It took them roughly 30 minutes to arrive at the Fuji residence where a little celebration was in order. There were a few guests and light conversation was exchanged. At one point they even made fun of Yuuta for showing affection and personally came home for the occasion.

Fuji's father offered to take Tezuka home for the boy's lack of transportation. The conversation during the car ride, Tezuka thought, was quite sudden for the student; especially with Fuji Satoshi no less.

"So Tezuka-kun… how's school?" Satoshi began.

"Quite well, thank you for asking," Tezuka replied.

"Junior year's demanding, isn't it?" the father inquired with a wide smile.

"Not yet, as of the moment. But yes, there are quite a number of required readings this time around."

"Your relationship with Syuusuke isn't getting in the way, I hope?" Satoshi pressed, smile fading slightly.

Tezuka shook his head. "Of course not."

"That's good to hear..." Satoshi's smile rose again. "So…when are you planning to marry my son?"

Taken aback by this sudden question, Tezuka blinked as he formulated what to say. "...In... a few years...?"

"Sou...have you two started to have sex yet?" Saeki plowed on.

Tezuka swallowed the forming lump in his throat. "I'll be blatantly honest and say that we've... had a few runs..."

"...Few?" Satoshi repeated with a raise of his eyebrow as they stopped at a red light.

Tezuka frowned. "Alright more than a few," he corrected.

Satoshi smiled again. "Protection?" he asked.

"Always."

"Good boy."

Silence passed between them after this. It was when they had entered Tezuka's subdivision and stopped in front of his house did Fuji Satoshi say his parting words to the boy with a wide smile on his face.

"I want 3 grandchildren from you two~"

**TBC**

Reviews much appreciated! :D


	75. Day of the LAE

Day of the LAE

Summary: Sunday finally arrives; the day of the aptitude exam. Noted are the sequence of events prior to Fuji entering the auditorium for the exam from Tezuka's point of view. [TezukaxFuji]

* * *

Tezuka, who had woken up relatively early was waiting for a text from the tensai. He had been given permission by his parents to accompany Fuji to Rikkai Dai that Sunday to take his scheduled LAE or Law Aptitude Examination. For this, Tezuka borrowed his father Kuniharu's car. While playing 'The Vanishing Files' on the Wii - which he had gotten the other day -, Tezuka felt his phone vibrate as he pulled it out and read the text.

"Odw. Kami-sama, I'm nervous.  
-S"

With a small smile Tezuka saved his game progress thus far and proceeded to get ready to leave. After bidding a farewell to his parents and his grandfather - who had been bedridden for quite some time now -, he went on his way. It took him 15 minutes to meet Fuji at the bookstore just across Hyoutei that Fuji asked them to meet at. As the bespectacled student was looking at some planners, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around him.

"Hello," Tezuka greeted as he wheeled around to face the tensai.

"I'm nervous Mitsu," Fuji whined as he walked down the aisle of planners and notebooks, heading for the array of shelves lined with books

"You'll do just fine," Tezuka reassured his boyfriend. "Anyway, what are you looking for here? Do you have your #1 Mongol pencils?"

"Yup."

"Your application form?"

"Mhmm."

"...What else did you need?"

"An ID. I have that too. I'm looking for reading material," the tensai finally replied quite casually.

After a few moments after being unable to find anything, Fuji finally announced to head off to early lunch at their favorite Japanese restaurant. Tezuka drove them there and quickly found a parking space.

"I wish that guy told us sooner," Fuji complained with a huff as Tezuka was turning into a parking space in the corner, assisted by one of the guards.

When the car was safely parked and the pair was seated, one look around told them that not much people were there yet, as much as the pair frequented the place. Both were hungry, having skipped breakfast out of the lack of time to do so or simply out of extreme anxiety. For that particular lunch out, Fuji offered to treat the other with the money he ended up not using the day before.

Among their food were Shake Sashimi and Shake Roll (both salmon). The sashimi that came first, was quickly targeted by the tensai, but what surprised Tezuka was the fact that even with the arrival of the Shake Rolls Fuji had not so much as touched the wasabi.

'_A rare occasion...'_ Tezuka admitted. '_I'll_ _chalk this up to Syuusuke being a nervous wreck right now,'_ he concluded.

It wasn't long until both had finished their ordered meals and asked for the bill. It was only 11:30, and the test was not until 1 PM. "Better to be there early," Fuji chided.

Tezuka, at that point, began mapping out a possible route to get to the Economics building of Rikkai Dai that he was familiar with, thanks to his cousins having attended there and to the fact of the other day's meeting with Sanada and Yukimura. Finding a parking area a little ways away, he and Fuji walked over to their destination where a lot of the others taking the exam were already waiting. Fuji let out a nervous chuckle.

"Looks like it was right for us to come early," he pointed out sheepishly.

As they made their way through the crowd, Tezuka had in his possession the seventh and final Harry Potter book he thought of reading to pass the time waiting for Fuji to finish.

After frequent glances around where Tezuka spotted a few schoolmates he didn't personally know, Fuji tugged the taller's shirt. "A lot of people are eying you Mitsu. Apparently you seem to look more like the one taking this exam than I am," he teased.

Sure enough, while Fuji was falling in line, Tezuka situated himself beside the tensai when a girl walked up to Tezuka and asked, "Excuse me, is this the line for the law exam?"

Tezuka nodded in confirmation. "I believe you're supposed to be lining up alphabetically," he explained helpfully.

"Ah, I see. What's your last name?" she continued.

Tezuka pursed his lips before stepping back and gestured to Fuji, indicating that it was him who would be taking the exam.

"F," Fuji replied with a smile.

"Thank you very much," the girl said with a bow before walking away.

Both Tezuka and Fuji exchanged glances before Fuji laughed. "See, I _told_ you so," he teased.

Tezuka huffed. "For one thing, I'm not in line. And would I be taking this" - he held up the thick hardbound book - "to an exam? Some reviewer," he complained.

"Then you should stay close to the other patch of grass there," Fuji suggested, gesturing to the left side of the walkway.

"Fine." Tezuka did so.

Fuji paled. "I was kidding Mitsu!" he immediately objected, pulling Tezuka back beside him.

"But that tone was serious just now," Tezuka rebutted pointedly.

A few more minutes passed before they moved to the front of the auditorium where someone was reading out the list in alphabetical order to enter the auditorium.

"Fuji!"

Fuji squeezed Tezuka's hand before proceeding inside. Tezuka watched him for a while before his smile faded into a frown.

'_...And the long wait begins.'_

**TBC**

Reviews much appreciated!


	76. Misconceptions about Fuji Part 1

Misconceptions about Fuji – Part 1

Summary: There are a lot of conclusions people make about the tensai Fuji Syuusuke. Tezuka decides to make a series of journal entries describing just how wrong those are. [TezukaxFuji]

A/N: Usual disclaimer for Tenipuri applies. Italicized text means it's a journal entry.

_Misconception #1: __**Fuji Syuusuke NEVER gets drunk**_

_Oh, if people only knew. This was EXACTLY the reason why I never put a glass of alcohol to my lips and drink despite my high tolerance to it (at least that's what I'd like to believe. Syuusuke, however, is a different story altogether. Not only does he have a tendency to get sick – though most of the time he never shows it – he has a __very__ low tolerance for alcoholic drinks. _

_Take this afternoon for example._

_His thesis defense was scheduled today along with his fellow thesis mates Eiji, Yuuko and Iikato. I received a text message from the tensai halfway into my Political Science class asking if I wanted to join them for tacos after class. Without hesitation I agreed and found out that we would all be going to Yuuko's place for said tacos. _

_It was during the car ride to Eiji's place did I find out about the tension going on within the group – although Syuusuke had already been angsting about it, but not to the extent Yuuko was concerning their other group mate Iikato. _

_Eiji's mother prepared some tacos for us and it was quite a fervent discussion: about how the defense went and all the annoying things Iikato was doing through the course of the thesis. But that's beside the point._

_What IS the point is the fact that Yuuko's boy-friend Minoru came by sometime later lugging around some alcoholic beverages, and a round of drinking ensued. I calmly declined any offer or persuasion of drinking for the sheer reason that I would be driving Syuusuke home later that evening, and for the general reasoning that I didn't drink. I left drinking to the three seniors who had just finished their defense, since it was their means of celebrating the near-completion of their final requirement to graduate college._

_I wasn't surprised about Eiji. He was flailing in panic about trying out alcoholic beverages especially when his mother was around and more so since Oishi wasn't around with him. Yuuko and Minoru, however, seemed to be used to this and held their liquor well. _

_The trouble now was Syuusuke. _

_Poor, poor Syuusuke. _

_One must understand that the reason he began to drink some shots of the stuff was because it was to de-stress. And I acknowledged that, since Syuusuke seemed to need it. But as he downed more and more shots I started to worry, though I just laughed it off when he started complaining but still ended up drinking the shot anyway. _

_Everything started to grow obvious as soon as we stood. Syuusuke wasn't walking straight, although his mind was still somewhat sharp. But he was already experiencing some vertigo that didn't really sink in until much later. After getting a ride from Eiji and his parents to a better place to catch a bus to get to my place, we walked the rest of the way into the subdivision and into my house._

_What was funny was the fact that Syuusuke initially didn't want to set foot in my house after a big argument we had some days ago. But even Yumiko-neesan insisted that I take him home so there was no point of complaint afterwards. I was lucky that my cousin Kaoru didn't have any nightly outing so that I could use his car to take Syuusuke home._

_It was upon reaching the house did Syuusuke plop down onto my bed after miraculously tackling the stairs without faltering. His signs of drunkenness didn't surface until the car ride to his house. Below is a rough transcription of the exchange that transpired:_

"Go on, Mitsu! Ask me a question!"

"What's your name?"

"….That's a hard one. Ask me another!"

"….What's your name?"

"….That's STILL a hard one!"

"What's your name?"

"Stop asking me hard questions!"

"What's MY name?"

"Mitsu~"

"My full name?"

"Tezuka…Mitsu~"

"What did we do today?"

"Go to school~"

"Besides that."

"Go to your house~"

"Besides that."

"Go to Eiji's house~"

"What did we do in Eiji's house?"

"Celebrate!"

"How did we celebrate?"

"We got drunk!"

"Correction. YOU got drunk."

"I got drunk."

"What did you drink?"

"The Bar."

"What else?"

"Mogu-Mogu."

"…What is your name?"

"FUJI SYUUSUKE~!"

_So there you have it. Still think my tensai of a boyfriend doesn't get drunk? Well think again. _

_...I hope he gets a good rest. He has a job interview tomorrow morning. _

_-Tezuka Kunimitsu_

_February 3, 2011_

**TBC**

Reviews much appreciated!


	77. Tough Decisions

Tough Decisions

Summary: Tezuka's decision to pursue AIESEC plummeted into really pondering what his relationship with Fuji meant to him. [TezukaxFuji]

A/N: Usual disclaimer for Tenipuri applies. Slightly based on real life. Actual date happened a few days before Chapter 76's events.

* * *

Saturday Afternoon.

Tezuka returned from AIESEC's Assessment Center carried out in one of the classrooms of his university with a contented smile. He was confident that he had done enough to pass the screening; if he passed, he was one step closer to gaining an opportunity to go abroad for his summer internship.

What he didn't expect, however, was the underlying tone one Fuji Syuusuke had used when asked about his opinion on the issue. Tezuka had asked his boyfriend what he thought about the whole internship abroad scenario. Fuji's reply, of course, was something that initially assured the former captain to continue things without remorse.

"_Your choice, Mitsu."_

That was what Tezuka had assumed. And he couldn't have been more wrong.

Monday Evening.

An IM window popped up and conversation stirred between the boyfriends. And it was only then did Tezuka understand that Wednesday a few days back; that Wednesday when Tezuka had decided to sign up for the youth organization on a whim. He had gone to Fuji's house and broke the news to him and had not acknowledged the initial reaction the tensai showed towards this sudden decision; a reaction that clenched at the very heartstrings of Fuji Syuusuke; the thought of being separated from Tezuka for at least 2 months.

"_Why don't I want you to go through with this, you ask? Well I think that's quite obvious Mitsu."_

Separation anxiety?  
Fear of growing apart in that span of time?  
That and probably more; Tezuka understood things up until that point.

"_Just remember this; if you go, then I won't hesitate to start treating you like I do everybody else."_

That statement sent shivers down the Computer Science major's spine. What people didn't know about Fuji was when he was around Tezuka he exhibited a kind of personality different from his usual demeanor towards the general public. With Tezuka, the tensai was more honest, kind, sweet and playful (and not the devious kind).

This got Tezuka torn. Strictly speaking, Fuji was a lot of the reason why Tezuka had changed so much from his usual self. For Tezuka, Fuji had helped him grow into the person he was today. And for that and everything else the former captain was grateful beyond compare. But on the other hand, this was somewhat a dream that he was chasing after; to go out and experience things for himself in a different country.

The tensai's fears resonated with Tezuka; the possible time apart for them would surely trample on the relationship that they had established until that point. And the fact that living separately paved the way for more distinct fears of finding someone _else _to rise to the surface. Tezuka didn't want that. But he just couldn't decide.

Because of this delayed indecision, Fuji made his own decision.

"_I'm sorry I can't do this anymore.  
__It's over.  
__Live your live, Mitsu.  
__I'm sorry if I hurt you.  
__I'm sorry if I kept on holding you back.  
__I'm sorry if I completely wasted your time and resources on myself.  
__I'm sorry for being selfish and an idiot.  
__I'm sorry for being such an ass.  
__This is the last time you'll hear of me, I promise.  
__I'll just drop your clothes and stuff off sometime.  
__Sometimes…s__ometimes the fact that we love each other isn't enough, ne?  
__Gomen…deeply sorry…goodbye."_

And Fuji Syuusuke went offline. The tensai's words lingered in Tezuka's mind for a long while, trying desperately to rebut everything Fuji had just apologized for.

'_Your dream…or your boyfriend, Kunimitsu…'_ he thought to himself. This was the core of his inner debate. Weighing his options for the nth time those past few days, he finally understood and decided. _'Screw dreams, I'm not letting Syuusuke slip away from my hands.'_

'_You know you don't have to apologize, Syuusuke.  
__You didn't hurt me.  
__I chose to hold myself back; just so I can be with you.  
__I wanted to spend on someone I cared for.  
__I myself am selfish and clueless.  
__And I never considered you an ass.  
__While you say that love isn't enough, it's the sole thing that's also opening my eyes to what I should be doing; love is the one thing that will help me keep believing that what we have is the genuine deal.'_

"So I won't dare give up on you. Never," Tezuka told himself firmly, squeezing his fist as he mentally prepared himself for the day to follow.

The following day, Tuesday, Tezuka fixed his things for school and headed out, making the long commute to one Fuji Syuusuke's house to get his boyfriend back.

**TBC**

Reviews much appreciated!


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